Bitcoin achieved a new historic all-time high price in December. At the same time,  analysts believe XRP is well on the way to smashing its own record, eclipsing Bitcoin, Ethereum, and Solanas gains in December.

In December, XRP tokens retraced 84% of losses from its all-time high price of $3.4 a coin in Jan. 2018 to a multi-year bottom of $0.16 in Mar. 2020. After seven years of turmoil in XRP markets, Ripple Labs cross-border blockchain settlement tokens notched $2.17 on Dec. 2.

After that, the asset charted a 30-day bullish falling wedge pattern with declining daily trade volumes. The bullish reversal of this classic technical chart pattern materialized on New Years Day. Ripple has already gained 26% since the turn of the year.

Here are six of the key supports for further price gains that XRP markets are counting on moving forward.

1. Musk Is Backing Ripple’s Bid to Cast Off The SEC

In December, the new D.O.G.E. advisor to incoming President Trump tweeted his latest broadside against the SEC. He made a very favorable statement about XRP when asked in October.

Shortly after the U.S. Fifth Circuit Court in New Orleans ruled the SEC broke the law (by endorsing diversity requirements for corporate boards), Musk tweeted:

The SEC is just another weaponized institution doing political dirty work.

It was a quote on a repost by pro-cryptocurrency Utah Sen. Mike Lee. The senator said, The SEC is yet another “independent commission” that cannot be trusted.

The SEC is just another weaponized institution doing political dirty work https://t.co/5w9ajcS6bf

Musk’s post came shortly after a US Fifth Circuit Court ruling against the SEC in another case that bolsters Ripple’s argument that the agency is regulating by enforcement rather than policy.

Ripple CEO Brad Garlinghouse jumped on the repost train to second Musks description. What he said, Garlinghouse added.

What he said https://t.co/sHs1aLkf8Z

Earlier in Q4, at an America PAC conference, an audience member asked the tech titan, Do you envision the XRP Ledger being incorporated into the financial institutions in the future.

Musk replied, This is definitely not an endorsement or lack of endorsement for XRP, but I do think crypto, by its very nature, helps with individual freedom.

2. Trump Back in White House a Big Win for XRP

FOX Business Senior Correspondent Charles Gasparino recently stated that incoming US president Donald Trump could put his thumb on the scale in the SEC lawsuit against Ripple Labs.

He made the comments to Professional Capital Management CEO Anthony Pompliano on the Pomp Podcast. Gasparino said he expects the new Trump Administration to shift the SECs approach to Ripple drastically.

He specifically pointed out Mr. Trumps Paul Atkins nomination for SEC Chair as a sure sign of a more Ripple and XRP-friendly Securities and Exchange Commission for the next four years.

Atkins is the CEO of a global consulting firm with clients in the cryptocurrency industry. Meanwhile, Trump appears apt to purge the SEC of anti-crypto commissioner Caroline Crenshaw.

The SECs case against XRP is arguably the most considerable headwind for XRPs price. It represents the most serious ongoing threat to Ripple and the institutional adoption of XRP.

3. XRP for Oil in The Middle East and North Africa

Looking back on a milestone year for crypto and ahead to 2025, @Ripple remains committed to advancing the digital asset ecosystem across the Middle East and Africa. Here’s what we are looking forward to in 2025.

UAE’s Crypto Leadership

The UAE is setting the pace for crypto…

Reece Merrick, Ripple managing director for the Middle East and Africa, shared a detailed note on Thursday about the #RemittanceRevolution happening in MENA nations.

He says the oil-rich Persian Gulfs United Arab Emirates is currently leading cryptocurrency adoption in the Middle East:

Remittances in MENA are getting a crypto makeover. Stablecoins are cutting costs speeding up transfers—bringing the Middle East, South Asia, Africa together like never before. The UAE leads the charge in financial connectivity.

He predicts banks in the Middle East will fully embrace blockchain solutions like XRP in 2025:

2025 will see MEA’s banks fully embrace blockchain. Look at UAE, KSA, Bahrain, Qatar Morocco. Faster payments, tokenized assets, and stablecoin utility are rewriting the rules of banking. This is how we diversify future-proof financial systems.

The skyrocketing total value locked in real-world asset tokenization (RWA) platforms is a bullish indicator of the value of XRP as a tool for fast, low-fee settlement in international trade. Most crypto analysts agree this is one of the most important metas for blockchain going into 2025.

4. Markets Are Going Crazy for Ripple’s RLUSD

Ripple Labs launched its new stablecoin RLUSD on Dec. 17. That creates more liquidity next to the XRP pool in the blockchain ecosystem, so its likely to create more long-term support for XRPs price in due time.

Stablecoins hold a 1:1 buying power peg to the US dollar or some other free-floating sovereign currency like the yen or euro. So far, the new stablecoin is already available on several crypto exchanges. Traders can use RLUSD on Uphold, Bitstamp, Bitso, Moonpay, CoinMENA, and Bullish, among others.

The sector was already so enthusiastic about RLUSD ahead of its launch that Ripple CTO David Schwarz had to warn against FOMO before the coins went to market. Interestingly, blockchain had minted most of the new stablecoins on Ethereum—some $52 million.

Ripple senior vice president of stablecoins Jack McDonald told CNBC the growth XRP has seen prior to RLUSDs launch inspired the new Ripple brand stablecoin: Part of the impetus for us wanting to launch a stablecoin is the growth we’ve seen specifically in cross-border payments.

As we’ve been using stablecoins more and more in our flows, that really piqued our interest that we should have our own native stablecoin that can be more cost effective and more operationally efficient to use, McDonald added.

Bottom Line for Investors

Over the New Year holiday, XRP made a bullish reversal. Ripple broke out of a descending wedge pattern with declining volume.

Interestingly, the rally took markedly far less daily trade volume to retrace 68% of its decline from XRPs record-high price on Dec. 2.

That indicates this market is far from the euphoria stage of this rally, with plenty of room left to the upside.