Is Bitcoin rival Ripple set to become the hottest cryptocurrency of 2018?

Bitcoin's astonishing run in 2017 attracted headlines and hype, as the digital currency's price soared and turned early investors into crypto-millionaires.

But another cryptocurrency's rise shook investors at the year's end as a currency known as Ripple capped an annual rise of more than 36,000 per cent, doubling in price in the last week of December.

Ripple's growth came after reports its payments system was being tested with a host of global banks, with Japanese and Korean credit card companies confirming they would pilot the technology.

Each unit of Ripple is now worth around $2.20 on online exchanges. While this is markedly less than Bitcoin's mammoth valuation of more than $13,800 per coin, Ripple has increased from $0.006 twelve months ago, and the total value of its supply makes it the second most valuable cryptocurrency.

So why is Ripple now worth so much more than it was just months...