There's no debate, Ripple (XRP) has been kicking ass, and today passed the $1.00 mark for the first time. For some perspective - a month ago it was $0.28So what's driving the increase, and what precautions should investors at least be aware of?Ripple has been reaching out to some big, and respected players in traditional finance. A partnership with American Express was announced last month, and just today it was announced banks in both Korea and Japan are conducting tests of Ripple's tech for use in international transactions.Also driving the price up - massive rumors that CoinBase will add Ripple to their trading platform.But that's where caution needs to come in. Full disclosure - I do hold some Ripple. So before any claims that i'm just spreading fear and doubt - I'm not. All responsible investors need to look at every investment they have and also ask "what could go wrong?".Here's why CoinBase could go either way.CoinBase released their framework for how they will decide what new coins to include, and frankly - Ripple's centralized structure doesn't meet the requirements. However - CoinBase made sure to emphasize - these rules are not set in stone, and they're free to make exceptions. You can look at their frameworkSecondly, some new Ripple investors may not be aware - but the Ripple on CoinBase rumors started long ago, this isn't new. The first round of rumors revolved around some now clearly fake, photoshopped images.But i'm not out to crush your hopes. One thing CoinBase has done is structured their business to pass any potential future regulations on the market. Basically ready if new laws are passed, they won't have to change much, if anything - and so has Ripple!This is a massive factor in Ripple's favor.Another factor in Ripple is the amount of coins in circulation, with more coming. With over 38 billion coins in circulation now, and 100 billion total supply - don't expect a $100 Ripple to be something we ever see.But that doesn't mean there isn't still plenty of room for growth - just keep those expectations realistic.