Ripple’s 53% surge makes it the second-biggest cryptocurrency

A new contender just moved into second place in the race to catch bitcoin.

Ripple, a cryptocurrency that first surfaced in 2013, has surged 53% in the past 24 hours to surpass ethereum and take the title of the world’s second-most valuable digital coin by market cap. Ripple’s market value rocketed to $96 billion, making ether No.3 at $70 billion. Bitcoin’s market cap is near $250 billion.

Last week’s announcement that three of Japan’s big credit card companies have signed up to use Ripple’s technology triggered bounce in the price of XRP.

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