Another bitcoin rival leaps to a record high, surpassing litecoin's market value

• Ripple's XRP digital currency soars 37.5 percent from Tuesday's close to a record high of 51.37 cents, passing litecoin to take fourth place by cryptocurrency market capitalization, according to CoinMarketCap.

• Since bitcoin jumped Monday following the launch of the first bitcoin futures contract on a major exchange, less popular cryptocurrencies have alternately surged.

• With Wednesday's gains, ripple is up more than 7,000 percent from its 0.65-cent price at the start of this year.

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Another day, another digital currency surge.

Ripple, or XRP, leaped 150 percent to a record high of 0.77 cents, according to CoinMarketCap. The gains pushed ripple past litecoin into fourth place by cryptocurrency market capitalization at $30.21 billion, according to CoinMarketCap.

Ripple is officially the name of the startup using bitcoin's blockchain technology to develop a payments network for banks, digital asset exchanges and other financial institutions. XRP is the digital coin network participants use for transactions.

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Like much of the recent gains in digital currencies, there was no apparent fundamental reason for ripple's surge other than positive momentum.

Since bitcoin jumped Monday following the launch of the first bitcoin futures contract on a major exchange, less popular cryptocurrencies have alternately surged. Litecoin and ethereum soared to record highs Tuesday. On Wednesday, ripple became the largest gainer.

"The launch of bitcoin futures by Cboe Global Markets earlier this week has been seen as a celebrity endorsement and a stamp of approval on crypto," Standpoint Research's Ronnie Moas said in an email. "Ripple is very promising … and many people are excited about this particular coin. It is in a powerful position and serves as a payment network … allowing you to transfer dozens of different currencies worldwide in lightning speed."

Bitcoin traded little changed near $18,000, according to CoinDesk's bitcoin price index. The digital currency has a market value of about $304 billion, the largest among the cryptocurrencies, followed by ethereum and bitcoin cash.

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