XRP (CRYPTO: XRP) rallied on Wednesday on a broader recovery in cryptocurrency sentiment and Ripple Labs’ partnership with Mastercard Inc. (NYSE:MA).

The fourth-largest cryptocurrency by market capitalization rose nearly 4% in the last 24 hours, wiping away some losses it endured this week.

In fact, XRP outgained blue-chip coins, such as Bitcoin (CRYPTO: BTC) and Ethereum (CRYPTO: ETH), which rose only 1.21% and 1.54%, respectively, in the 24-hour period.

The uptick revived speculative interest for the coin somewhat, with open interest in XRP futures rising 2.16% in the last 24 hours, according to Coinglass.

See Also:Ripple (XRP) Price Prediction: 2025, 2026, 2030

XRP’s relief bounce comes after a difficult stretch, with its value down 9% over the past week and more than 21% in the last month.

The rally likely derived momentum from Ripple’s partnership with payments giant Mastercard and cryptocurrency exchange Gemini (NASDAQ:GEMI) to explore the usage of Ripple USD (CRYPTO: RLUSD) for fiat card payments.

The project aims to let RLUSD, which is based on the XRP Ledger, handle blockchain-based payment settlements between Mastercard and WebBank, which issues the Gemini Credit Card.

Additionally, Ripple announced that it has secured $500 million in strategic funding from top institutional investors, raising its valuation to $40 billion.

Price Action: At the time of writing, XRP was exchanging hands at $2.32, up 3.97% in the last 24 hours, according to data from Benzinga Pro.

Mastercard shares closed up 0.10% at $553.31 during Wednesday’s regular trading session, while the Gemini stock gained 3.56% to settle at $16.87. 

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