Fig. 1. Market Capitalization as RIPPLE rises over 7,000% in the past 6 months. Courtesy of https://coinmarketcap.com/currencies/ripple/
Ripple is making a remarkable run as the New Year approaches. Instincts and predictive analysis indicate keeping a close eye on the historic rise as the cryptocurrency makes gains towards breaking the $1.00 ceiling. For perspective, Ripple began the year valued at $0.0065 for one and is currently hovering around $0.75 cents which is promising.
I've heard arguments suggesting that in the next 12-36 months the currency will surpass many other widely accepted coins as adoption rates increase. One thing to consider will be the purposeful choices to downplay and restrict its availability to markets that are not BRIC allies, especially with the current political storms and impending economic embargo with Russia.
Luckily for us, you are willing to make calculated investments because you realize the value in latent growth. So if you are planning on giving this Christmas, choose a gift that will ultimately keep growing. A puppy would be nice too. Someday Ripple will be as big as if not bigger than Bitcoin in the not-too-distant future so buying a few dozen now doesn't sound too bad!