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The cryptocurrency XRP has overtaken BNB to become the fourth largest by market capitalization, following Ripple's announcement of its expansion in Brazil. As of Wednesday morning, XRP's market cap stood at approximately $93 billion, while BNB's was around $92 billion.
Ripple, which holds about 40% of the XRP supply, revealed in a statement on Tuesday that it plans to offer a range of financial services in Brazil. These include cross-border payments, digital asset custody, prime brokerage, and treasury management. Additionally, Ripple intends to apply for a license with Brazil's central bank.
"Latin America has always been a priority market for Ripple — not just because of the scale of the opportunity, but because Brazil has built one of the most advanced and forward-thinking financial ecosystems in the world," said Monica Long, president of Ripple, in the statement. "We’ve spent more than a decade building the trust, licensing, and technology required to operate in regulated markets."
This expansion follows Ripple's recent $750 million share buyback, which valued the company at about $50 billion. The buyback demonstrated Ripple's ability to grow despite ongoing challenges in the broader crypto sector.
Led by CEO Brad Garlinghouse, Ripple facilitates international money transfers for financial institutions using the XRP ledger. Since XRP's creation in 2012, Ripple has held roughly 80% of its total supply.
While XRP now ranks fourth among cryptocurrencies by market cap, Bitcoin and Ethereum remain the top two. Bitcoin has declined about 3% in the past day, trading near $71,000, while Ethereum is down roughly 6%, currently priced around $2,180, according to Binance.
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