A new contender has moved into second place in the race to catch bitcoin.

Ripple, a cryptocurrency that first surfaced in 2013, surged 53 per cent in 24 hours to surpass ethereum and take the title of the world's second-most valuable digital coin by market cap on Saturday US time.

Ripple's market value rocketed to $US86 billion ($110 billion), making ether No.3 at $US73 billion. Bitcoin's market cap is near $US250 billion.

It's the latest twist in the crypto saga known as the "flippening". That's what ether enthusiasts call the coin's anticipated rise to the most valuable by market cap.