XRP (CRYPTO: XRP) continued the upward march Tuesday, becoming the third-largest cryptocurrency by market capitalization after Bitcoin (CRYPTO: BTC) and Ethereum (CRYPTO: ETH).

What happened: The payment-focused cryptocurrency spiked to $2.84 early in the morning hours, just 19% shy of its all-time high. The rally propelled the market valuation to over $160 billion.

Subsequent correction wiped out some of XRP's valuation but was enough to knock Tether (CRYPTO: USDT) out of third place among the largest cryptocurrencies by market capitalization.

As of this writing, XRP was valued at $143.59 billion, higher than iconic Wall Street companies like Boeing Co. (NYSE:BA) and Nike Inc. (NYSE:NKE).

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Why It Matters: XRP has been one of the breakout performers of the ongoing cryptocurrency market bull run, leaping 82% over the week and nearly 400% in the last month.

The rally has been broadly supported by Donald Trump's presidential victory and a slew of bullish triggers specific to XRP's ecosystem.

Incumbent Securities and Exchange Commission Chair Gary Gensler's departure, reports of cryptocurrency-friendly Paul Atkins succeeding him, jump in filings for spot exchange-traded funds tied to the cryptocurrency, and the imminent launch of Ripple Labs' RLUSD stablecoin.

Noted cryptocurrency analyst Michaël van de Poppe called XRP "the prime indicator" of altcoin strength.

"The last time this explosive move happened, it was the start of the altcoin period," he added.

Price Action: At the time of writing, XRP was trading at $2.53, down 5.93% in the last 24 hours, according to data from Benzinga Pro.

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