XRP zoomed as Gary Gensler’s announcement of stepping down in January as chairman of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) kept a multiweek bullish trade going.

XRP prices surged 25% in the past 24 hours, with most of the gains in early Asian hours Friday, amid widespread belief of a shift toward a crypto-friendly regulatory environment for U.S.-based companies.

XRP is closely-related to Ripple Labs, a high-profile payments company targeted by the SEC since 2020 on allegations of selling the token as a security to U.S. investors. Ripple fully cleared a long-drawn court case in 2024, bringing the spotlight back on XRP, a major token that commands a $77 billion market capitalization.

The token is now up 65% in the past 7 days and 150% in the past month, data shows, with CoinDesk market analysts targeting a short-term price level of $1.40.

Donald Trump’s election victory in 2024 has been positively received by the crypto community due to his previously expressed pro-crypto sentiments. Investors are betting that his administration might foster policies conducive to the growth of the crypto industry.

There are also expectations of an XRP exchange-traded fund (ETF) in the U.S. among some traders amid the perceived lenient regulatory environment.

This week, XRP, alongside dogecoin (DOGE), recorded significantly higher trading volumes than usual leader bitcoin on South Korean exchanges in a sign of frenzied demand.

XRP and U.S. dollar-denominated open interest are over record levels with over 2 billion tokens (worth more than $2 billion at current prices) in futures positions betting on further market volatility.