Payments-focused cryptocurrency XRP (XRP) has surged 12% over the past 24 hours, outperforming both bitcoin (BTC) and ether (ETH). This double-digit gain has lifted XRP's price to $3.32, its highest level since July 28.

The price upswing has been underpinned by sophisticated, anticipatory block option trades on Deribit, involving a bullish bet on volatility. Block trades are large transactions executed over-the-counter and outside of the public order book to minimise their impact on the prevailing market price of an asset.

The first block trade executed on Thursday involved the simultaneous purchase of 100,000 contracts of the Aug. 29 expiry call and put options at the $3.20 strike. The trader paid over $416,000 in premiums for the so-called long straddle strategy, which stands to profit

See Full Page