THE LATEST CRYPTO NEWS

Fresh accusations of market manipulation are surrounding XRP after a wave of unusual whale activity triggered sharp liquidity shifts across major exchanges. On-chain analysts claim that large XRP holders may be strategically moving billions of tokens to influence price action, target leveraged positions, and exploit weak liquidity zones during critical market sessions. Is XRP Becoming A Whale-Controlled Market? XRP whales have now confirmed strategic manipulation of liquidity, turning what appears to be resistance into a calculated market trap. A crypto trader and investor known as Cheeky Crypto on X noted that as XRP tests the $1.45 resistance level for the fourth time, new data suggests this ceiling is a deliberate liquidity zone engineered by large holders. Related Reading: XRP Market Now Controlled By Whales? Dominance Reaches 91% On Binance At the core of this setup lies a staggering 1.16 billion XRP token supply overhang and a hidden market pipe. While retail investors interpret repeated rejections as weakness at the resistance zone, institutional players are reportedly absorbing sell pressure through ETFs. On-chain data adds weight to this narrative. In a single day, 34.94 million XRP tokens were withdrawn from exchanges, while the XRP native automated market maker is creating a supply-demand imbalance. Furthermore, regulatory developments could act as a major catalyst. The United States Senate Banking Committee’s ongoing work on the Clarity Act could become a major turning point for XRP resistance if lawmakers officially classify the asset as a digital commodity. Cheeky Crypto believes that the Goldman Sachs disclosure of a $153.8 million position in spot XRP ETFs marks the beginning of the institutional era for the ledger. Stablecoin Activity On XRP Ledger Continues Accelerating Rapidly Multiple bullish signals are aligning for XRP and its broader ecosystem. The CTO and founder of House of Cauliman, Mr. Cauliman, has highlighted that one of the strongest indicators came from exchange flow data showing that more than $115 million worth of XRP was withdrawn from exchanges within 24 hours. These large exchange outflows are often interpreted as a sign that big holders are moving assets into private wallets rather than preparing them for immediate sale. Related Reading: This New Move Just Opened XRP To 44 Million New Users At the same time, activity surrounding real-world assets on the XRPL is rapidly accelerating. Tokenized assets on XRPL have surged to approximately $3.03 billion, representing a roughly 45% increase over the past 30 days. At the same time, stablecoin adoption is also expanding across the network, with value nearing $498 million, and transfer volume continues to rise. Furthermore, institutional adoption is also becoming more tangible. In a notable development, Ondo Finance, JPMorgan Kinexys, Mastercard, and Ripple successfully executed a near real-time cross-border redemption of tokenized US Treasuries using XRPL. Despite whales steadily removing XRP from exchanges, institutions testing real settlement with RWA, and stablecoin activity rapidly expanding, the network continues to operate efficiently. This growing appeal is coming from buyers, but the reason people are paying attention is utility. Featured image from Getty Images, chart from Tradingview.com

Crypto analyst Tom has declared that a projected XRP rally to $21.5 isn’t a gamble and will definitely happen. This came as he revealed that a measured move is coming for the altcoin, which will send its price to this $21 target.   XRP Eyes Measured Move To New ATH Of $21.5 In an X post, Tom said that XRP is set to see a measured move to a new all-time high (ATH) of $21.50, with this price target also his second take-profit zone. The analyst revealed that he had held XRP when the token was trading at $0.30 and and held until it reached its current ATH of $3.84.  Related Reading: XRP Analyst Reveals The Question No One Asks And Why It’s Important Now, the analyst is again holding the token, targeting higher prices for XRP. He highlighted some positives as the token eyes the $21.50 target, noting that the 3-week golden cross has fired. Furthermore, Tom noted that the current base is a 1:1 fractal of the 2014 to 2017 cycle and that the volume is lower than the last cycle’s bottom, with supply gone.  In another X post, the analyst reiterated his bullish outlook for XRP, citing the CLARITY Act as a catalyst that could spark a rally. His accompanying chart showed that the altcoin could reach $2.8 by July, which is around when the crypto bill could pass. The bill is a positive for XRP, as it will provide regulatory clarity by classifying XRP as a commodity.  Crypto analyst Michael also echoed similar sentiments about XRP, stating that a parabolic rally could begin at any time. He declared that this will be the biggest breakout of the year, as the altcoin has already bottomed.  XRP Yet To Bottom Despite Recent Relief Rally Crypto analyst Egrag Crypto has indicated that XRP has yet to bottom despite its recent rally above $1.4. In an X post, he stated that the weekly chart presents a very interesting diminishing downside structure relative to the 200 SMA. He noted that during the first major cycle low, XRP bottomed roughly 60% below the 200 SMA. Meanwhile, during the second major cycle low, the token bottomed roughly 40% below the 200 SMA.  Related Reading: XRP Price Is Replicating The 2017 Trend And The Implications Are Parabolic Applying the same diminishing downside pattern, the analyst said the next major low could be 20% below the 200 SMA, implying a price target of $0.93. Egrag Crypto stated that this thesis wasn’t unreasonable because mature assets tend to experience reduced downside volatility and smaller capitulation percentages. Such assets are also said to have stronger macro support structures and more institutional liquidity stabilization.  At the time of writing, the XRP price is trading at around $1.45, up over 2% in the last 24 hours, according to data from CoinMarketCap. Featured image from Adobe Stock, chart from Tradingview.com

XRP is drawing renewed attention in the crypto community after an analyst raised a key question about the driving force behind demand for the asset in a global settlement system. The discussion focuses on how XRP would function if the XRP Ledger (XRPL) were widely adopted for payments, and whether the cryptocurrency’s value comes from usage, liquidity routing, or deeper institutional structures built around it. Related Reading: Bitcoin Bulls Need One More Signal To Confirm Market Bottom – Details Analyst Questions XRP’s Demand Source In An XRPL Economy  Crypto analyst Iso Ledger posted a compelling question in an X post on May 7, 2026, sparking debates across the crypto community. The analyst argued that if the entire world used the XRP Ledger and settled with the RLUSD stablecoin, XRP would primarily function as a gas token. If this is the case, he questions what actually creates real and sustainable demand for XRP within that system. Iso Ledger explained that the answer lies in “bridging.” In his view, XRP gains demand when it is used as a liquidity bridge between two currencies or assets that do not have direct trading pairs. He used the example of a Japanese pension fund paying a Brazilian supplier, in which XRP would route value between OUSG and a BRL stablecoin when no direct liquidity exists. In this structure, XRP is not just a fee mechanism but a neutral bridge asset that enables settlement between disconnected markets. According to Iso Ledger, this is where demand is created through transaction flow rather than simple usage.  However, he also raised a more complicated issue about what happens when liquidity becomes too deep across all assets on XRPL. If direct pairs exist between most major currencies and stablecoins, XRP may no longer be needed for routing. In that case, it could be sidelined in favor of direct settlement paths. Iso Ledger suggested this creates a tension in the cryptocurrency’s long-term value model. According to him, XRP either has to become expensive enough to remain practical for large institutional settlement or stay low-priced around $2 and collect fractions of a penny with low demand forever. XLS-66D Seen As Solution To XRP’s Demand & Supply Issue  He pointed to the upcoming XLS-66D, a proposed lending protocol on XRPL, as a potential solution that could lock up XRP supply. By reducing circulating supply, XRP’s price could increase, which in turn could strengthen its role as a settlement asset and support more adoption in a feedback loop. He believes this loop could eventually lead to a continuous demand and price appreciation in the long run.  Related Reading: XRP Flashes Historic Rally Signal, Fueling $12 Price Speculation He concluded his debate by raising a key question. Iso Ledger asked why institutions would build a lending protocol or a $550,000 security audit around a “gas token.” He questioned why companies would create XRP ETFs or why Goldman Sachs would invest $152 million in XRP if it were just a simple gas token. According to him, the market is underestimating XRP’s evolving role in global settlement systems. He said that its price just hasn’t caught up with the bullish developments surrounding it.  Featured image from Unsplash, chart from TradingView

Crypto pundit Remi has declared that an XRP rally to $1,000 is nothing big, indicating that the altcoin could easily reach this target. The pundit also revealed why he believes that XRP could rally much higher, outlining potential use cases for the token.  Pundit Explains Why XRP Can Rally Well Above $1,000 In an X post, Remi remarked that those who think an XRP rally to $1,000 is something “big” haven’t been out in the real world. First, he alluded to the DTCC, stating that XRP can’t be less than $100 solely because of the DTCC utility, as this could drive in “quadrillions” of dollars. The pundit is alluding to the DTCC working with Ripple on its tokenization goals, which could be bullish for XRP.  Related Reading: These Catalysts Can Trigger The Next XRP Price Run, But Can It Reach $3? Furthermore, Remi noted that the inclusion of SWIFT, tokenization, U.S. debt, the Special Drawing Rights (SDR), and the entire banking system makes it impossible for XRP to support such use cases without slippage unless the token is worth over $1,000. In line with this, he declared that if the bull cycle ends quickly, then XRP is likely to have only a three-digit price tag. However, if the cycle extends, then the altcoin could rally above $1,000.  The pundit also noted that XRP needs volume and adoption percentage, which he believes will only come with time. He declared that it will be a quick adoption. XRP is already seeing significant adoption with increased activity on the XRP Ledger. The total tokenized value on the network has surpassed $3 billion, according to data from RWA.xyz.  The CLARITY Act Factor Remi stated that if the CLARITY Act gets signed into law by July, and the bull cycle ends in September, then XRP won’t have time to mature before the cycle ends. However, he believes the token will keep rising while the economy tanks, and that it could rally above $1,000 at year-end 2027 rather than at the start of the year.  Related Reading: XRP History Is About To Repeat Itself And Price Could Rally 1,008% To Cross $10 Interestingly, the pundit also raised the possibility of XRP rallying to $100,000 in the near future, stating that this could happen when they make XRP an e-SDR. He declared that this would happen as the token becomes the settlement rail for the global financial system. He doubled down on the e-SDR angle, predicting that XRP could reach as high as $5,000 overnight if the  International Monetary Fund (IMF) or the Bank for International Settlements (BIS) labels the token as an e-SDR. Remi also expressed confidence that this will eventually happen.  At the time of writing, the XRP price is trading at around $1.42, up over 3% in the last 24 hours, according to data from CoinMarketCap. Featured image from Peakpx, chart from Tradingview.com

Market analysts are identifying new catalysts that could propel XRP to explosive highs. A leaked footage shared by Crypto analyst Don Digital Finance highlights two catalysts from a theorized pricing model that could trigger a massive price surge for XRP. Meanwhile, other experts are focusing more on XRP’s payment rails and utility, predicting a price rally to $3.  While most XRP price projections in the market are often based on speculation and hype, the leaked model treats the cryptocurrency as a functional tool for banks and institutions. This means that a higher XRP price is required or even mandated for the system to remain efficient. Leaked Model Predicts XRP Price Rally Between $5 and $4,300 In a post on X, Don Digital Finance shared details regarding leaked footage featuring Teucrium CEO Sal Gilbertie. The video captures Gilbertie discussing various legitimate pricing models for XRP that suggest a valuation range starting from $5 to $4,300. Related Reading: XRP History Is About To Repeat Itself And Price Could Rally 1,008% To Cross $10 These pricing models primarily focus on XRP’s institutional adoption and velocity, which measures how many times it is used within a specific period. Explaining the theory governing the model, Don Digital Finance said that if the XRP network settles trillions of dollars in global payments, the speed of these transfers would dictate how many tokens must be available at any given second. Notably, when institutions move large sums of money, they need deep liquidity to prevent the price from swinging wildly during a single trade. This suggests that if XRP’s price remains low, banks would need to move a massive number of tokens to settle a single multi-billion-dollar payment. This strategy would create a huge functional problem because there are not enough tokens in circulation to support that volume of wealth at a low price point. Related Reading: XRP Price Is Replicating The 2017 Trend And The Implications Are Parabolic However, Gilbertie’s mathematical models suggest that for XRP to handle massive institutional flows, the price needs to be high enough for the existing supply to cover all transactions. A higher price means global banks can use fewer coins to transfer very large amounts of money. According to his calculations, the required price for this system to work is between $5 to $4,300.  Analyst Projects XRP Surge To $3 Then Higher In a separate X post, market expert XRP Queen stated that XRP is positioning for a significant breakout. She predicts that the cryptocurrency could first reach its 2018 all-time high of $3.84, then ultimately target an ambitious $227. According to XRP Queen, the catalyst behind this rally is XRP’s growing role as a global payment asset. She noted that the XRP Ledger (XRPL) has recently entered a $2.7 trillion market that encompasses payments, decentralized media, and the broader Web3 ecosystem. She believes that XRP could become a core payment rail within this space, potentially fueling substantial price growth. Featured image from Getty Images, chart from Tradingview.com

A crypto analyst has laid out a technical case for XRP reaching between $8 and $12 by April 2027. This technical case is purely based on XRP’s price pattern on the weekly candlestick timeframe chart and a projection of where the cryptocurrency goes from here. XRP Can Technically Rally $8 To $12 The foundation of the pundit’s prediction is a multi-year ascending channel that has governed XRP’s price structure since the 2020 bear market lows. The cryptocurrency has been moving within a long ascending channel that stretches from the 2020 low to the 2021 rally, the 2022-2023 accumulation area, and the latest market cycle since 2024.  Related Reading: Analyst Sets $220,000 Minimum Price Target For Bitcoin, But How Will It Get There? Furthermore, the weekly chart shows XRP repeatedly reacting around the lower and middle portions of this channel before attempting to push back to the upper trendline. However, the most notable part of the current positioning is where the XRP price is sitting within this structure. The ascending channel is connected to higher lows, and the lower trendline is currently around $1.2 to $1.4.  This means the cryptocurrency recently tested and held the lower boundary of the channel and has since begun curling upward, with the next projection being a return to the upper trendline of the channel. This movement implies that XRP is now in the early stages of what could become its most powerful channel rally to date. Interestingly, the upper boundary of the channel is currently around $12, which corresponds to the pundit’s prediction of an $8 to $12 price target zone for XRP. The Fibonacci levels on the chart also support the bullish projection. The 1.618 extension from the channel’s low is around $12.15, and this makes the $12 target more than a random number in the analysis. It aligns with the upper Fibonacci extension and the projected channel resistance, giving the prediction a technical basis. XRP Price Chart. Source: @CelalKucuker On X What The MACD Is Saying Another pointed element of the chart was highlighted in the MACD panel below the price action. A circled region on the weekly MACD shows the indicator printing a bullish signal, where the blue MACD line is about to cross over the orange one. This setup is similar to previous MACD crossovers that preceded XRP’s major upside moves, including mid-2025, which took the cryptocurrency to a new all-time high of $3.65. Related Reading: Bitcoin Has Entered Its ‘Most Dangerous Quarter,’ And This Expert Is Warning Investors The weekly MACD is starting to print green bars, and if this is sustained, it would add momentum confirmation to the bounce from the lower trendline of the ascending channel. In order for Kucuker’s 2027 predicted timeline to hold, XRP would need to clear several intermediate resistance levels before the end of the year, including the psychologically significant $2.00 price level, the $3.65 price peak, and the 1.272 and 1.414 Fibonacci extensions at $4.42 and $6.70, respectively. Featured image created with Dall.E, chart from Tradingview.com

XRP’s latest breakout attempt appears to be losing steam as bulls struggle to maintain price action above the key resistance zone near $1.45. The rejection has pushed XRP back toward an important support area despite ongoing bullish developments surrounding Ripple and the XRPL ecosystem.  Failure To Hold Above $1.45 Resistance In a recent analysis, crypto analyst EllaWeb3 noted that XRP struggled to maintain momentum above the $1.45 level and has since started drifting back toward the same breakout zone that traders had been closely monitoring in recent sessions. The rejection near resistance has slowed bullish momentum and placed the market back into a wait-and-see phase. Related Reading: XRP Nears Triangle Apex—Will A Breakout To $1.80 Follow? What makes the situation more notable is that the pullback occurred despite Ripple continuing to expand institutional tokenization use cases on the XRPL network. Major names such as JPMorgan, Mastercard, and Ondo have reportedly been involved in this move. Yet, the market appears to be reacting more to technical structure than to bullish headlines. At the moment, traders are closely watching several key price levels. The $1.40–$1.41 range is currently acting as the primary support zone, while the $1.45–$1.47 area continues to cap upside attempts. Momentum weakened significantly following the rejection near $1.45, and thinner-than-usual liquidity conditions could lead to sharper price swings in either direction. Although the broader setup has not fully broken down, XRP has returned to an area where the market is once again seeking confirmation. A successful reclaim of the upper range could quickly improve sentiment. However, if support levels begin to fail, confidence in the breakout narrative may fade rapidly. XRP Continues To Lag Behind Bitcoin’s Recovery According to More Crypto Online, XRP continues to trade sideways even as Bitcoin has already produced stronger B-wave rallies during the current market phase. From a higher timeframe outlook, the overall structure has not changed significantly. Related Reading: XRP Compression Peaks: Symmetrical Triangle Signals Explosive Move Ahead The current price action continues to appear corrective and may still be unfolding as part of a broader ABC pattern. Rather than displaying impulsive upside behavior, XRP seems to be developing a B-wave range. At the moment, the key local range between $1.22 and $1.55 remains the main support and resistance zone. As long as XRP stays trapped within this region, the market structure continues to favor a corrective outlook over a bullish one. From an Elliott Wave standpoint, there is still no convincing evidence that XRP has begun a direct impulsive advance toward new all-time highs. The broader structure still leaves room for another C-wave decline into the larger support area between roughly $0.98 and $0.48. At the same time, a temporary rally toward the red resistance region between $1.78 and $2.87 remains possible and would still fit within a larger corrective B-wave scenario. For now, momentum remains the key issue for bulls, as XRP continues to struggle for a decisive breakout while Bitcoin trades near major resistance levels. Featured image from Freepik, chart from Tradingview.com

Crypto pundit Vincent Van Code has explained what a $5 trillion Fed master account, which Ripple is eyeing, could mean for XRP. This comes as the Fed weighs rolling out skinny master accounts for crypto firms, which could also provide them access to the central bank’s payment rails.  What A Fed Master Account For Ripple Could Mean For XRP In an X post, Vincent Van Code stated that a Fed master account for Ripple means that the company can hold its RLUSD backing balance with the Fed without counterparty risk. He further noted that the $5 trillion is a glimpse into how much RLUSD will be printed. The pundit then alluded to the RLUSD/XRP pair, suggesting that XRP’s value could increase significantly as it is used to enable cross-border asset exchanges.  Related Reading: Ripple Execs Are Firing Back And XRP Investors Could Be In For A Good Time In line with this, Vincent Van Code declared that there are big plans in store for XRP and that the flywheel hasn’t yet spun up. The pundit suggested that XRP holders simply have to be patient as these plans materialize. In another X post, he explained the model for how a Fed master account could send XRP to at least $80 based on Ripple CEO Brad Garlinghouse’s prediction that over 30% of Ripple Treasury’s $13 trillion could be on-chain by 2031.  The pundit noted that 30% of $13 trillion is around $5 trillion and that a Fed master account is also $5 trillion. He further remarked that a potential monthly release of 1 billion XRP from escrow at $80 per XRP would reach $5 trillion in about 60 months. Vincent Van Code added that he may be wrong, but that the model adds up. He added that XRP reaching $80 by 2032 will shock some people, but those who bought at $0.50 could see a 160x return.  30% of Ripple Treasury’s $15 Trillion Could Move On-chain In an X post, Crypto pundit ChartNerd highlighted Ripple CEO’s statement that 30% of their treasury business could move on-chain in the next five years. Garlinghouse noted how this could provide more liquidity in the crypto ecosystem, potentially boosting XRP’s price, with the firm already integrating the altcoin into their treasury management system.  Related Reading: Why Does Ripple Keep Unlocking And Selling Millions Of XRP Every Month? The Ripple CEO also mentioned that their treasury business is seeing greater adoption among large- to mid-sized companies, with American Airlines as a client. He noted that they have been able to make payments faster and more cost-effectively for these companies, as they can now make cross-border payments in real time. Garlinghouse also alluded to their dashboard, which makes payments easier, seeing as they have now integrated XRP and RLUSD with fiat on the same dashboard.  At the time of writing, the XRP price is trading at around $1.38, down in the last 24 hours, according to data from CoinMarketCap. Featured image from Getty Images, chart from Tradingview.com

XRP is trading above $1.41 as the market enters what feels like a decisive phase — a consolidation that has been building long enough that the next directional move is increasingly difficult to delay. The price is constructive, and an Arab Chain report tracking whale behavior on Binance has just identified a shift in large holder activity that adds a specific structural dimension to the current setup. Related Reading: Retail Capitulation Hits AAVE, But Smart Money Starts Positioning: Here The Post-Crisis Market Structure The report begins with the March picture, which serves as the alarming baseline. At the beginning of March, 30-day cumulative whale inflows to Binance reached 2.6 billion XRP — a level of large holder activity that reflected significant movement toward the exchange platform. In on-chain analysis, whale inflows of that scale to centralized exchanges carry a specific implication: when the biggest holders move large amounts to trading platforms, the likelihood of selling or repositioning increases meaningfully. The exchange is where selling happens. Inflows of 2.6 billion XRP from major holders created a supply overhead that the market had to absorb. That was March. The Arab Chain report’s more significant finding is what has happened since, because the shift from that 2.6 billion baseline to the current reading is the data point that changes how XRP’s current price level should be interpreted. From 2.6 Billion to 736 Million. The Biggest Sellers Have Nearly Left the Building. The Arab Chain report’s forward signal is contained in the direction and magnitude of what followed the March peak. The 30-day cumulative whale inflow indicator has been declining gradually and steadily since then, reaching approximately 736 million XRP — its lowest reading since November 2021. From 2.6 billion to 736 million in a matter of weeks represents a 72% reduction in the primary channel through which large-scale XRP selling reaches the market. The report identifies two possible explanations for that behavioral shift, and both carry constructive implications. The first is reduced selling intent — whales are simply less inclined to sell at current levels and are choosing to hold their XRP off-exchange rather than position for distribution. The second is caution and anticipation — major investors are watching the market’s direction carefully before committing to any significant repositioning, which keeps their coins away from exchanges in the meantime. The continued decline through the volatility of recent weeks adds weight to both interpretations. If whale inflows had been declining simply because markets were quiet, volatility would have reversed them. They kept falling regardless, which suggests the behavioral shift is deliberate rather than circumstantial. The forward condition the report identifies is specific. If inflows remain at these historically low levels while demand improves and price stabilizes around the current level, XRP has the structural conditions to build a stronger price base. The largest source of selling pressure has retreated. What replaces it on the demand side will determine how durable that base becomes. Related Reading: Bitcoin Reclaims $80K, And $93K Comes Into Focus — Discover The CME Gap Setup XRP Compresses Below Resistance As Range Tightens XRP continues to consolidate around the $1.40–$1.42 region, maintaining a tight range after the sharp capitulation event in February. That move reset the broader structure, and since then, the price has transitioned into a prolonged sideways phase marked by reduced volatility and increasingly compressed price action. This type of behavior typically reflects equilibrium between buyers and sellers, but it also tends to precede expansion. From a structural perspective, XRP remains below all major moving averages. The 50-day is flattening and acting as immediate resistance, while the 100-day and 200-day continue trending downward above price. This alignment confirms that the broader trend has not yet shifted bullish, even as short-term momentum stabilizes. Related Reading: Ethereum Withdrawals From Exchanges Just Hit An 8-Month Low: Find Out What Investors Are Waiting For What has changed is the downside behavior. Selling pressure has clearly weakened, with repeated dips toward the $1.30–$1.35 zone being absorbed consistently. Buyers are stepping in earlier, preventing deeper retracements and forming a subtle sequence of higher lows within the range. Volume supports the compression narrative. Participation has declined compared to the selloff phase, indicating that the market is waiting for a catalyst rather than actively positioning. A break above $1.45 would mark the first structural shift toward a recovery. Until then, XRP remains coiled within a tightening range. Featured image from ChatGPT, chart from TradingView.com 

XRP has entered a new chapter in Japan’s payments market after Rakuten Wallet connected the token to Rakuten Pay and Rakuten Cash, giving millions of everyday users a route to interact with the cryptocurrency through an ecosystem they already use. The development is one of the most talked-about XRP adoption stories of the year, among many others. Crypto commentator Dr. Kamilah Stevenson relayed a message for investors fixated on XRP’s price chart: they are watching the wrong screen, while the XRP ecosystem is quietly being opened to 44 million new users. The Market Is Missing The Real XRP Story Stevenson’s comments are based on one idea: XRP adoption may be moving forward beneath the surface even when price action looks quiet. According to the crypto commentator, many investors judge adoption by whether the price jumps immediately after a headline. That is the wrong way to measure developments like the Rakuten Wallet rollout. Related Reading: Is XRP A Scam Or A Trillion-Dollar Coin? Pundit Shares The Answers As noted by Stevenson, 44 million people just got access to XRP. However, that is not a claim that 44 million people have bought the cryptocurrency. Instead, it references Rakuten Wallet, which added XRP to its Rakuten Pay app, allowing its 44 million users to use the cryptocurrency as a payment method across more than 5 million merchant locations in Japan.  Therefore, this implies that a consumer base of 44 million users now has access to XRP anytime they want, particularly to be used as a payment option. That matters for XRP because the cryptocurrency’s long-running investment thesis has always leaned heavily on payment utility. It also plays into the trend of an outlook of adoption by financial institutions. As noted by Stevenson, “this is exactly what institutional adoption looks like, and most people are completely missing it.” Price Is Not The First Signal To Watch Most crypto investors, especially retail traders, are always chasing headlines and expect the XRP price to jump very quickly to moves like this. However, there is a risk in expecting adoption to show up instantly on the price chart. Related Reading: Here’s Why The XRP Price Keeps Crashing Despite Bitcoin Rising On the other hand, real adoption doesn’t move prices immediately. Institutional money doesn’t move on headlines. The more important things are transaction volume, merchant adoption, and proof of concept at scale.  That view fits the Rakuten development more closely than a simple bullish price headline would. Rakuten Wallet’s rollout allows users to convert Rakuten Points into XRP, trade the asset in-app, and charge Rakuten Cash through Rakuten Wallet for spending with Rakuten Pay. Interestingly, the Rakuten development is one of many that are increasing the utility of XRP and the entire XRPL ecosystem on a global scale. While retail traders are watching the price chart, the real money is watching the infrastructure quietly built underneath.  Featured image from Adobe Stock, chart from Tradingview.com

Crypto analyst Dark Defender has alluded to history to predict a 1,008% rally for XRP, which could send its price above $10. This comes as the altcoin looks to build a base at $1.4 amid the recent recovery in the crypto market.  XRP Eyes Rally Above $10 As Price Looks To Mirror Past Gains In an X post, Dark Defender predicted that XRP could record a 1,008% gain, rallying to as high as $18. This is expected to be similar to the gains that XRP recorded in the 2021 bull run, when it rallied to $1.72. The analyst noted that history doesn’t repeat itself but that it rhymes, which is why the altcoin could see a similar gain.  Related Reading: XRP Price Is Replicating The 2017 Trend And The Implications Are Parabolic Notably, the analyst had earlier noted that XRP is maintaining the primary structures and levels and that a correction on the weekly time frame is technically over. Based on this, he declared that a directional move is inevitable as long as $1.31 is maintained. XRP is currently holding above $1.40 amid Bitcoin’s rally to as high as $82,000. The recent crypto market recovery has provided optimism that the bull market may be back.  Crypto analyst ChartNerd also provided insights into XRP’s current price action as the altcoin eyes a rally to new local highs. In an X post, he stated that XRP’s multi-month compression range is tightening while the weekly 20/55 EMAs sit above as resistance.  The analyst further remarked that a successful breakout of this structure toward $1.80 would mark a critical inflection point. However, he warned that liquidity hotspots suggest alternative short-term price scenarios.  Analyst Points To Symmetrical Triangle On XRP’s Chart In an X post, crypto analyst Egrag Crypto said that the symmetrical triangle on XRP’s chart is becoming impossible to ignore. This came as he noted that the price keeps compressing tighter and that this type of structure historically leads to a violent expansion move. The analyst further remarked that the measured targets are becoming crystal clear, but the $1.80 to $1.90 zone is a major resistance to this expansion.  Related Reading: Bitcoin And XRP Are Seeing A Surge In Adoption, Here Are The Numbers  Egrag Crypto explained that this zone is not just a resistance but also a macro trend barrier. The analyst predicted that XRP could see a rapid move to $2.30 if the altcoin breaks through this zone with conviction, especially with support bouncing from the White Line structure. However, he added that he was still leaning toward the “fake pump” scenario first, despite this bullish setup for the altcoin, as it tends to trap breakout traders before the real move.  At the time of writing, the XRP price is trading at around $1.41, down in the last 24 hours, according to data from CoinMarketCap. Featured image from Freepik, chart from Tradingview.com

Analysts are predicting an explosive surge in XRP’s price this year, comparing the current cycle to the 2017 bull market. According to a recent forecast, XRP’s chart structure is replicating the bullish patterns that preceded its historic 2017 rally. Experts believe that if this historical trend plays out perfectly, the XRP price, which has been trending downward for months now, could go parabolic. XRP Price Mirrors Bull Setup From 2017 Rally @Cryptocupra, a market analyst on X, is sounding the alarm about a major bullish move he believes could soon take place in XRP’s price. In a video analysis shared on May 4, the expert forecast that XRP could soon go parabolic, citing historical chart patterns from the 2017 cycle. Related Reading: Here’s How High The XRP Price Will Be If It Repeats The 2017 Surge The analyst drew comparisons between XRP’s price action in 2026 and its movements in 2017. According to @Cryptocupra, XRP is currently displaying the exact structure and setup that had led to its parabolic rally in 2017. At the time, the cryptocurrency was trading around $0.006. However, it broke out of lower levels and rallied, extending its bullish run until it hit an all-time high above $3.84 in 2018. @Cryptocupra’s video chart further shows that in 2017, XRP broke out of a descending triangle pattern before launching into a rally. The chart shows that XRP had been trending downward for months inside this narrow triangle before breaking out to the upside. @Cryptocupra reveals that this same triangle pattern has appeared in the 2026 cycle, reinforcing his bullish outlook for XRP this year. The chart shows that after the cryptocurrency surged above $3.5 in 2025, it began to trend downward and eventually formed a descending triangle. Since then, XRP has been trading in the red, steadily declining even as other cryptocurrencies surged.  Notably, if XRP can break out as it did in 2017, @Cryptocupra believes its price could surge, turning many holders into millionaires. He predicted that all that’s left is a final shakeout before a trend reversal to the upside begins, triggering the projected price explosion.   Analyst Says XRP At $10-$20 Still On The Table In a separate analysis, market expert Crypto Patel forecasted that XRP’s potential rally toward the $10 to $20 range was “absolutely” still on the table. Despite the cryptocurrency currently trading around $1.4 after months of decline and muted price action, the analyst maintains a solid bullish outlook, citing past price performance and achievements. Related Reading: Analyst Shares ‘Realistic Stance’ For XRP, But Is It The End Of The Road? He noted that despite market participants calling XRP a dead coin in 2023, the cryptocurrency jumped from $0.006 in 2017 to over $3 in 2018. He said that XRP also skyrocketed from $0.50 in November 2024 to over $2.60 in just 30 days.  As a result, Crypto Patel believes that a surge to $10 is closer than ever, highlighting a critical accumulation zone between $0.70 and $1.10 for XRP. He believes that this parabolic rally will likely be fueled by the cryptocurrency’s underlying network, which he says is 1,000x faster than Bitcoin, 99% cheaper than Ethereum, and already being used by global banks.  Featured image from iStock, chart from Tradingview.com

Ripple and XRP are now tied to a sweeping claim of 13,000 banking connections and $12.5 trillion in payment activity. The scale draws immediate attention and prompts closer examination of how XRP fits within a network this large and operates across such an extensive financial system. XRP And Ripple’s 13,000-Bank Reach: What Connects Them? The scale of 13,000 connected banks begins with how Ripple links financial institutions without requiring them to abandon existing systems. Instead of replacing banking infrastructure, the company built a framework that integrates with it. This approach allows thousands of banks to operate within a shared network while still relying on their established processes. Related Reading: Bitcoin Price Expansion To $97,000 Is Only Being Blocked By One Pesky Retest At the center of this structure is Ripple’s treasury platform, which unifies payment flows and liquidity tracking in one environment. It delivers a consolidated view of cash positions, giving institutions the ability to monitor and manage funds across borders in real time. Such visibility becomes essential when transaction volumes extend into the trillions. A key step in expanding this capability came with the $1 billion acquisition of GTreasury in 2025. This added established treasury management tools widely used in corporate finance, strengthening Ripple’s ability to coordinate large-scale financial activity. By integrating tested technology rather than building entirely new systems, the network expanded more efficiently while maintaining compatibility with existing operations. This structure clarifies the 13,000-bank figure. It reflects connectivity through a unified system rather than a complete shift into new infrastructure. The network functions as a bridge across institutions, enabling interaction within a shared financial layer while preserving internal systems. XRP’s Role Inside The $12.5 Trillion Payment Flow The next focus is on volume, and this is where XRP’s role becomes more defined. Within a system handling $12.5 trillion in payments, efficiency in moving value across borders becomes essential. Positioned within Ripple’s infrastructure, XRP functions as a liquidity tool designed to support faster and more flexible value transfer across currencies. Traditional cross-border payments often depend on pre-funded accounts in multiple currencies, which ties up capital and slows transactions. XRP offers an alternative by acting as an intermediary asset, allowing value to move between currencies without requiring those reserves. This function aligns with the demands of a system processing large-scale payment flows. Related Reading: Bitcoin Renko Mari-Ashi Reveals Where The Bottom Lies And When The Rise Will Begin Again Still, the reported $12.5 trillion does not imply that every transaction runs through XRP. Ripple’s platform supports multiple payment methods, giving institutions flexibility depending on regulatory requirements and operational preferences. XRP is used in specific scenarios where speed, cost efficiency, and liquidity access are priorities. The figures shared by BSCNews point to a broader infrastructure rather than a single-channel system. XRP operates within that structure as a targeted solution, not the sole mechanism behind the entire volume. Its role becomes clearer when viewed in context: part of a larger financial network designed to move value efficiently across thousands of connected institutions. Featured image created with Dall.E, chart from Tradingview.com

Days after the Senate Banking Committee released its draft language for the CLARITY Act, Ripple CEO Brad Garlinghouse delivered a blunt message about the road ahead for the delayed crypto market-structure bill.  Speaking Tuesday at CoinDesk’s Consensus Miami event, Garlinghouse said the next two weeks could prove decisive—not just for the momentum of the legislation, but for whether it ultimately clears one of the last key procedural hurdle. Ripple CEO Defends CLARITY Act Compromise Garlinghouse emphasized that the CLARITY Act passage is still not guaranteed. He pointed to the Senate Banking Committee’s long-awaited hearing as the immediate turning point. Without that progression, he warned, the odds for the broader package would deteriorate quickly. “If it doesn’t happen then, I think the likelihood is going to drop precipitously,” he said. Even so, he added that he still believes the bill is likely to advance. Related Reading: XRP Near $1.40—What Could Spark A Move To $1.70, And How The CLARITY Act Fits In The CLARITY Act draft, as previously reported by Bitcoinist and echoed across coverage through the weekend, is designed to curb certain yield practices in the crypto sector—particularly by restricting how crypto firms handle stablecoins used for payments.  Under the draft, crypto companies would be barred from paying customers “any form of interest or yield” simply for holding payment stablecoins. The intent, according to the framing around the bill, is to align the treatment of stablecoin holdings with how traditional banks handle deposits. At the same time, the bill includes an important carve-out. Companies would be allowed to offer incentives or rewards, but only if those benefits are not functionally or economically comparable to the interest a customer would receive on a bank deposit.  That distinction—between permissible promotional incentives and incentives that could be viewed as effectively equivalent to deposit yield—has been one of the most contested negotiation points in the process since the CLARITY Act began taking shape.  Garlinghouse acknowledged that the outcome does not fully satisfy every concern. “Do I think it’s perfect? Hell, no,” he said. He described the bill as a product of tradeoffs and compromises, but argued that the goal of regulatory “clarity” is still better than leaving the sector to operate in uncertainty.  The Fight Over What Counts As ‘Yield’ Eleanor Terrett of Crypto In America reported on Monday that some in crypto were interpreting the CLARITY Act draft as a win for banks, arguing that a broad “no yield” approach would give traditional institutions an advantage.  However, banks appear to be looking at the language differently—some are reportedly worried that the compromise may not go far enough to prevent crypto firms from finding ways around it. Related Reading: DTCC Tokenized Securities Roadmap: Pilot In July, Scale Up In October—With Big Names Like Ripple By Tuesday, Terrett said a split is forming in bank circles over the yield compromise itself. Some institutions—especially larger banks with consumer-facing operations—are said to be taking issue with parts of the final wording.  Meanwhile, those without similar consumer arms reportedly appear more comfortable with the direction of the CLARITY Act compromise. Community banks are also signaling interest, though the industry group ICBA has voiced concerns over how the approach may affect their perspective and interests. Terrett also relayed the concerns of at least one major bank that shares the view held by some negotiators: the core problem is that the CLARITY Act language could be drafted too narrowly, leaving room for crypto companies to repackage or restructure “yield-like” rewards in ways that still resemble bank deposit interest.  At the time of writing, the price of Ripple’s associated cryptocurrency, XRP, was $1.41, marking a 2.5% increase over the past week.  Featured image from OpenArt, chart from TradingView.com 

The XRP price action has long been a topic of debate in the crypto community, with analysts and investors discussing the reasons behind its weak performance despite ongoing bullish developments. Given the cryptocurrency’s persistent downtrend, some market participants have labeled XRP a scam, suggesting that it lacks real potential and its price is being deliberately suppressed. However, a crypto pundit has addressed these claims, debunking the scam label while shedding light on XRP’s long-term potential as a trillion-dollar asset.  Why Crypto Users Are Calling XRP A Scam Vincent Van Code, a crypto analyst on X, has outlined several reasons that counter the idea that XRP, the native token of the XRP Ledger (XRPL), could be a scam. In his post, he asked why people believed “XRP is a scam or it’s not being used.” The analyst’s question connects to the broader criticism that XRP’s price has remained low for years despite its active use in cross-border payments, strong community, partnerships with key financial institutions, and expansion into different regions.  Related Reading: Ripple Execs Are Firing Back And XRP Investors Could Be In For A Good Time Before XRP’s rally above $3.5 in 2025, the cryptocurrency was in a steady downward trend for years. The XRP price had been consolidating around the $0.5 level for over four years before it broke past that level in 2024 and jumped above $2.  With the SEC lawsuit officially over and new developments emerging for Ripple and the XRP Ledger, many believed it would be only a matter of time until the price began rallying again to an explosive high. However, XRP has done the opposite. After crashing from above $3.5 last year, the cryptocurrency has been trading at lower levels around $1.3 for months. This weak price action has prompted many in the crypto community to doubt XRP’s potential, with some labeling it a scam token.  Analyst Debunks XRP Scam Labels In his X post, Van Code noted that XRP cannot be a scam if Ripple, a $50 billion company, is actively using the cryptocurrency and working to make it a multi-trillion-dollar asset. He said that there are ongoing plans to use XRP to handle over $1.5 trillion in cross-border payments each year, highlighting its potential role as a bridge currency in global transactions.  Related Reading: XRP Price Set To Rise As It’s Set To Capture A $180 Trillion Market; Analyst Rather than focusing on near-term price action and current performance, the analyst emphasizes XRP’s core utility as a payments solution and how this could drive long-term potential. Van Code suggested that as XRP continues to be used for payments and gains widespread adoption, its price would begin to appreciate in good time. Until then, he urges investors and holders to remain patient as XRP builds real-world use and expands its network. Van Code also referenced a recent statement made by Ripple CEO Brad Garlinghouse, who emphasized the importance of XRP, saying that “all roads lead back to Ripple’s North Star, XRP.” Featured image from Adobe Stock, chart from Tradingview.com

XRP has never lacked lofty price targets, but the latest comments around a possible move to $10,000 have led to a direct response from one of the most familiar voices in the Ripple ecosystem. David Schwartz, Ripple’s former chief technology officer and one of the original architects of the XRP Ledger, has pushed back against the idea by pointing to a simple market question. According to him, if serious capital truly believed in even a small chance of that outcome, why is XRP still trading at its current level? David Schwartz Challenges The $10,000 XRP Predictions The XRP community has long been home to some of the most ambitious price forecasts in crypto. Numbers like $10,000, $20,000, and above circulate regularly on social media, often backed by the outlook of financial institutions adopting the XRP Ledger for facilitating payments. Related Reading: Does The Ethereum 300% Boost In Capacity Mean Price Can Rise 3x To $6,000? David Schwartz, who departed as Ripple CTO in December 2025, addressed the $10,000 XRP prediction head-on during a discussion on X earlier this week. The motivation for Schwartz’s comments was a question from an X user who asked him to respond to valuation theories built around a crypto adaptation of analyst Chris Burniske’s equation of Price = PQ / (V × S). Some market commentators have used the model to support very high projections for digital assets, including XRP. According to Schwartz, if there were a few very rich and very rational people who really believed that there was a 1% chance that XRP could hit $10,000 in 10 years, then they would’ve bid XRP up to at least $20 today. A move to $20 would still be huge from XRP’s current level, but it is nowhere near $10,000.  The Gag Order Claim At the time of writing, XRP is trading $1.41, with a market cap of $86.7 billion and a circulating supply of about 61.8 billion tokens. At $10,000 per XRP, that same circulating supply would imply a valuation around $618 trillion. Therefore, the point made by Schwartz is that even a remote chance of such a massive future price and market should already be attracting aggressive buying from large investors if it were credible. Related Reading: Bitcoin Price Expansion To $97,000 Is Only Being Blocked By One Pesky Retest The conversation did not stop at XRP price predictions. Schwartz also addressed suggestions that he may be restricted from speaking fully about XRP or Ripple. He noted that he has never signed any agreement that required him to lie, adding that he would choose silence or avoidance over giving an answer he did not believe was truthful and accurate. Schwartz also took aim at claims that Ripple holds an undisclosed mechanism that will one day be revealed and send the XRP price above $100. “For one thing, circumstances have changed so much that it’s hard to imagine we’ve held onto this magic switch for so long and it’s still just waiting to go,” he said. Interestingly, this is not the first time Schwartz has spoken against ultra-bullish XRP price predictions. Back in January, he pointed out that even a modest chance of XRP reaching $100 within a few years would already be reflected in its current price. Featured image from Dall.E, chart from TradingView.com

XRP is entering what analyst Will Taylor (@CryptoinsightUK) describes as a rare momentum reset, with technical conditions now lining up around a potential sharp move higher. In the latest edition of The Weekly Insight, Taylor argues that XRP’s recent downturn may have compressed momentum to an unusual degree just as regulatory and ecosystem narratives begin to reappear. XRP Momentum Hits Rare Extreme The core of the setup is XRP’s relative strength index. According to the analyst, previous instances where XRP’s RSI reached oversold territory, or touched the 32 level or lower, have historically marked major lows. This time, the reading fell to around 30, described as the “second lowest RSI reading ever for XRP,” though not quite a full oversold break. Taylor’s main point is not only the level of the RSI, but the speed of the decline. XRP’s RSI reportedly fell from roughly 91 to 30 in a historically short period, a move the analyst frames as evidence that momentum may have swung too far, too quickly. “The market became too bearish too quickly,” Taylor wrote, adding that this is why he sees a likely case for another leg higher. Related Reading: XRP Compression Peaks: Symmetrical Triangle Signals Explosive Move Ahead That view is tied directly to XRP’s current base. The analyst says XRP is now building from around $1.38, compared with roughly $0.38 before its prior explosive move. If XRP were to repeat a similar percentage expansion to the November 2024 rally, when the asset allegedly moved about 500% within weeks, Taylor says that would imply a move toward roughly $6.50. The MACD, in Taylor’s reading, strengthens the same argument. The report describes XRP’s MACD as sitting at its lowest reading on record, suggesting that downside momentum has stretched further than in previous cycles. For Taylor, that creates the conditions for a forceful reversal if momentum turns, especially while price continues to hold above the $1.38 area. The analysis becomes more speculative when Elliott wave theory enters the discussion. The analyst says there is an argument that XRP may be entering wave three of a broader five-wave structure, with a possible target zone between $8 and $12. Taylor cautions that such a scenario is difficult to present without sounding speculative, but argues that major crypto expansions often occur in compressed time windows. Related Reading: David Schwartz Challenges $10,000 XRP Theory With Simple Question The market setup is also being framed against a possible regulatory catalyst. Taylor cites Coinbase chief legal officer Paul Grewal as saying the Clarity Act appears to be moving forward after an agreement with banks, while also pointing to commentary from Eleanor Terrett that market attention has shifted toward the week starting May 11 as a potential markup window. For XRP specifically, that timing matters because Ripple has been vocal about the importance of crypto market structure legislation. The analyst also notes recent criticism from Cardano founder Charles Hoskinson, who has suggested that the Clarity Act is being advanced in a way that could primarily benefit XRP rather than the broader market. Taylor does not fully endorse that view, but says the dispute highlights how significant the bill could become if it advances. At press time, XRP traded at $1.4155. Featured image created with DALL.E, chart from TradingView.com

XRP is trading in a quiet range between $1.38 and $1.40, but new derivatives data indicates the calm may be masking a more unstable setup beneath the surface.  A CryptoQuant analysis by Pelinay shows that XRP’s leverage structure is low and moving sideways, while its price action has been relatively higher than the leverage, and this has created a divergence that history has shown to resolve through a forceful explosive move. Related Reading: Bitcoin’s Path To $100K May Happen Before Anyone Understands Why: Analyst XRP Holds Strong Despite Sharp Decline In Leverage Ratio The CryptoQuant chart shared by Pelinay focuses on Binance’s estimated leverage ratio for XRP. The most important signal that the chart is showing is not simply that leverage is low, but that XRP’s price has not collapsed alongside it.  The chart shows that leverage was much higher during previous phases, particularly around the major price expansion in late 2024 and the push to new all-time price highs in mid-2025. However, the current leverage ratio has fallen back near the lower end of its range and is moving sideways.  The leverage is now back to late 2024 numbers. Particularly, the Estimated Leverage Ratio on Binance is now around 0.1. The XRP’s price, however, is still holding close to $1.4, which is well above its price levels seen before its late-2024 breakout. Back in October 2024, a leverage ratio of 0.1 corresponded with an XRP price of just $0.50. XRP Estimated Leverage Ratio On Binance. Source: CryptoQuant Is A Squeeze Coming For XRP? What this means in essence is that the XRP price is no longer being pushed mainly by aggressive borrowed positioning. That can be important because it suggests that much of the excess speculation has already been flushed out. However, this type of divergence rarely stays unresolved for long. The market usually deals with it in one of two ways. Price can fall to match the lower leverage environment, or leverage can begin rising again and feed a stronger price reaction. The second outcome is the more bullish scenario. In that case, XRP would not need an already overheated derivatives market to begin its move. A similar move happened between late June and mid-July 2025, when the leverage ratio climbed from below 0.3 to just under 0.6 in four weeks, and over that same period XRP surged from $1.96 to $3.65. Related Reading: US CLARITY Act Moves Closer To Law After Surprise Stablecoin Yield Update Crypto analyst Egrag Crypto arrived at a similar conclusion through an entirely different framework using the monthly candlestick timeframe chart. Both analyses point to the same idea: XRP may look quiet, but the structure is brewing for a violent move. XRP Price Chart. Source: @egragcrypto The chart shows XRP compressed between long-term rising macro lines, with the price now situated around the lower part of a wedge structure. EGRAG marked the $0.90 region as a possible trap zone, while also showing a bullish path that could send XRP back above $1.80. Featured image from Unsplash, chart from TradingView

XRP is entering a critical phase as its price action tightens within a symmetrical triangle, signaling that a major move may be imminent. With volatility compressing and market pressure building, the current structure suggests that a breakout could be both sharp and decisive.  Triangle Compression Tightens As XRP Nears Apex XRP is currently exhibiting a classic consolidation phase, carving out a well-defined symmetrical triangle on the daily chart. According to analyst Ali Charts, as the price action funnels toward the apex of this formation, market energy is coiling intensely, a phenomenon that historically precedes a massive spike in volatility.  Related Reading: XRP Signals Massive Breakout: $10 Target In Sight As Momentum Builds Based on the height of the triangle formation, technical projections suggest that a decisive breakout could trigger a price movement of approximately 26%. However, because symmetrical triangles are inherently neutral patterns, they offer no directional bias until the price escapes the structure.  To avoid the risks associated with market noise and fake-outs, a strict no-trade zone has been designated between $1.35 and $1.45. Engaging in positions within this narrow corridor often results in being trapped by short-term fluctuations that do not reflect the true trend.  The most prudent strategy involves waiting for a confirmed daily close outside of this range to validate the next leg. A successful close above the $1.45 resistance would set a bullish target of $1.82, while a breach below the $1.35 support could see the price slide toward the $1.00 level. Despite steady institutional inflows via ETFs, retail momentum is still waiting for a spark; therefore, patience is the primary advantage until the market prints a definitive close. Bear Trap Setup Signals Potential Market Deception In a recent technical update, Egrag Crypto suggests that the current XRP market structure is potentially laying the groundwork for one of the most significant bear traps in its history. This setup typically involves a deceptive downward move designed to lure sellers into short positions just before a massive upward expansion. According to the analysis, this maneuver often precedes a major breakout, serving as the final liquidity grab before the next leg up. Related Reading: XRP Price Set To Rise As It’s Set To Capture A $180 Trillion Market; Analyst The technical indicators suggest that price compression has reached a state of maturity, with the market structure tightening. This phase of the market cycle is specifically designed to shake out weak hands before the momentum flips from consolidation to a violent trend. A critical component of this thesis is the invalidation level, which currently sits at the $1.80 mark. A decisive daily close above this resistance, combined with a confirmed breakout from the prevailing falling wedge pattern, would effectively cancel the bear trap theory.  Until that breakout occurs, the current setup remains a high-probability scenario for a violent market movement. Maintaining a strategic perspective during this tightening phase is essential, as the eventual exit from this pattern is expected to be both swift and aggressive. Featured image from Getty Images, chart from Tradingview.com

Crypto pundit Crypto Dyl has revealed how high the XRP price could reach if it replicates its historical surge in 2017. This comes amid former Ripple CTO David Schwartz’s statement in which he addresses predictions that the altcoin could rally to $10,000.  Pundit Reveals XRP Price Target If It Mirrors 2017 Surge In an X post, Crypto Dyl stated that the XRP price could rally to $1,044 if it sees another supply shock and records a 768x gain as it did in 2017. He noted that in 2017, the altcoin rallied from $0.005 to $3.84 due to a supply shock. The pundit added that XRP had decoupled from Bitcoin prior to the SEC’s lawsuit against Ripple, which helped contribute to this rally.  Related Reading: Breaking Down The Price Modelling That Puts XRP As High As $18,000 Crypto pundit SMQKE had recently alluded to the XRP price surge in 2017, noting that this was something important for XRP investors to remember. He highlighted how XRP delivered nearly 350x returns during the period, compared to Bitcoin and Ethereum, which gained 14x and 100x, respectively.  SMQKE stated that XRP was able to achieve such massive returns without Ripple making any major acquisition at the time to boost the token’s use case. As such, he believes that the XRP price is better positioned to record more significant gains than it was back then, since Ripple has made major acquisitions that have boosted the token’s use case.  However, amid these bullish outlooks for the XRP price, crypto pundit ChartNerd has warned about ultra-bullish price targets for the altcoin. He stated that the overly ambitious price targets being thrown around for XRP are far more “dangerous and unrealistic” than the predictions of a drop below $1, which are grounded in historical data.  Former Ripple CTO Comments On $10,000 XRP Prediction In an X post, former Ripple CTO David Schwartz suggested that an XRP price rally to $10,000 as unlikely to ever happen. He stated that if there were a few “very rich, very rational” people who really believed that there was a 1% chance that XRP could hit this target in ten years, they would be bidding the altcoin up to at least $20 today.  Related Reading: Pundit Shares The Most Important Thing To Remember About XRP Meanwhile, he also addressed assumptions that Ripple had ways to drive the XRP price higher. He noted that they have explained what they are doing, why they are doing it, and what they hope to achieve. The former Ripple CTO added that they are not hiding any grand conspiracy about XRP, even if they aren’t transparent about everything. Schwartz also indicated that there is no way they would have waited this long if indeed they had ways to boost XRP’s price.  At the time of writing, the XRP price is trading at around $1.38, up in the last 24 hours, according to data from CoinMarketCap. Featured image from Adobe Stock, chart from Tradingview.com

XRP ended April with momentum, posting gains of roughly 9.4% over the month. Still, the bigger question for traders is whether the next leg can come faster—and push the altcoin beyond the narrow consolidation zone that has defined much of its recent trading.  According to market expert Sam Daodu, May has unusually strong timing and catalysts stacked together that could lift XRP to price levels not seen since the start of the year, especially if a key piece of US crypto legislation progresses as expected. May Catalyst Watch Daodu points to a current consolidation range for XRP between $1.30 and $1.45, describing it as a ceiling-and-floor setup that has kept the asset trapped while the market waits for clearer catalysts.  One of the earliest catalysts landed on May 1, when Coinbase began Trading At Settlement (TAS) for XRP futures. The activation is intended to support both nano XRP and full-sized XRP futures contracts on Coinbase Derivatives.  While TAS alone may not move XRP in a dramatic way, Daodu suggests the change could matter indirectly by making it simpler for larger US funds to build meaningful XRP positions through regulated venues.  Related Reading: Hyperliquid Jumps Into The Betting Boom With New ‘Outcome Tokens’ For Real-World Events Exchange-traded fund (ETF) momentum then comes into view on May 7, when GraniteShares is scheduled to launch its 3x leveraged XRP ETFs. Leverage products can amplify both upside and downside once traders decide a direction.  In addition, May 15 is also on the calendar: that’s when Jerome Powell exits as Federal Reserve (Fed) Chair. Daodu’s view is that rate-cut expectations—which have seemed delayed all year—could finally pick up if the Fed tone changes. The legislative driver is the centerpiece of the May narrative. Daodu highlights that the delayed CLARITY Act faces a hard deadline before the Senate’s Memorial Day recess on May 21.  In his framework, a break above $1.50 depends on whether the bill clears the Senate Banking Committee. Daodu notes that if Chair Tim Scott schedules the markup during the week of May 11 and Republicans keep the committee votes together, the biggest blocker holding XRP back all year could be removed. XRP Price Scenarios For This Month  The upside scenario, in Daodu’s logic, is closely tied to institutional behavior around regulatory clarity. If the CLARITY Act is signed into law, he expects “billions” in fresh ETF inflows, based on the idea that regulatory uncertainty has kept some institutions on the sidelines.  Daodu believes that a potential supply squeeze could help the altcoin break through the $1.45–$1.50 resistance zone and rise to around $1.80. This could result in a 30% rally from current trading prices of $1.39 — a level the token has not reached since January. Related Reading: US Rep. Calls Bitcoin A ‘Geopolitical Weapon Used By Multiple Adversaries’ But Daodu also outlines what happens if the process misses the May 21 deadline. Without CLARITY in the near term, the token could remain stuck following broader market signals more closely—trading less on its own news and more on the direction Bitcoin (BTC) sets. For levels, Daodu starts with the downside line at $1.30, a support area that has held since February. He suggests that a daily close below $1.30 would invalidate the token’s cup-and-handle setup. From there, XRP could slide toward $1.28.  If $1.28 fails, Daodu points to $1.20 as the next major support, describing it as a psychological level that XRP has only reached during broader market sell-offs. Further weakness would put $1.17 in play, and below that, he says $1.00 could become the next major reference point.  Featured image created with OpenArt, chart from TradingView.com 

Crypto analyst Ripple Bull Winkle has shared detailed insights into a new price model that predicts XRP’s valuation using theoretical liquidity metrics from the XRP Ledger (XRPL). The model calculates XRP’s required price under different adoption scenarios and potential growth in institutional money flows. In the near-term target, it predicts XRP could rally to $16 and forecasts a price explosion to $18,000 if the cryptocurrency becomes a dominant global bridge asset.  A Breakdown Of The $18,000 XRP Price Model In an X post published on Tuesday, Ripple Bull Winkle delved deep into a viral XRP price model that has quickly caught the attention of analysts and crypto investors. Market expert Vincent Van Code said the system was “arguably one of the better price modeling systems” he had ever seen.  Related Reading: XRP Ledger Hits New RWA Milestone, But Will This Have Any Impact On The Price? Van Code noted that the model uses real liquidity metrics from XRPL to create scenario-based price calculations for XRP. He also declared that the calculated $18,000 price target is “actually correct,” suggesting that XRP had a high chance of reaching this level if it follows the model’s setup to the letter. Notably, Ripple Bull Winkle said the new model was created by a researcher and calculates XRP’s price without speculation or hype. He explained that the system outlined five scenarios for XRP’s valuation. Each of these possible outcomes is linked to a specific use case and peak transaction volume.  The analyst noted that XRP’s projected surge to $18,000 is expected to occur when the cryptocurrency becomes a dominant global bridge asset. The researcher notes that to reach this level, XRP would have to hit a peak ticket of $50 billion in transaction volume.   Ripple Bull Winkle noted that this model does not predict XRP’s price but calculates the level that is mathematically required for XRP to serve as a leading bridge currency. In other words, the model shows that a price jump to $18,000 is justified if XRP meets the stated conditions. XRP’s Near-Mid Term Price Model Scenario For XRP’s near-term outlook, the model indicates that a price of $16 is needed to expand into Small and Medium-sized Enterprises (SME) and remittance markets. At this stage, the peak ticket is also expected to hit $100 million. The model also notes that this scenario is already being supported by the current price and ongoing developments around XRP.  Related Reading: XRP And Bitcoin Investors Are ‘Trapped’, But Is There A Way Out? Interestingly, XRP’s mid-term outlook sees the cryptocurrency at the center of corporate treasuries and regional bank flows. This scenario calls for a required price range of $138 to $690 and a peak ticket of about $500 million. Ripple Bull Rinkle adds that this stage is where institutional and bank adoption will begin to have real price implications.  Moreover, the model noted that for all of its scenarios to play out, XRP needs to become a dominant neutral bridge with deep institutional usage across all major tokenization venues. For now, however, the cryptocurrency is still in a market driven by speculation rather than one fueled by utility. Featured image from Freepik, chart from Tradingview.com

The XRP price is trading around $1.37, but a new outlook from XRP commentator SMQKE is looking away from the short-term chart and back to the long-term utility case.  The analyst’s view centers on the simple idea that XRP’s value will not be decided by speculation alone but by whether it becomes a fundamental liquidity asset for international payments. With this in mind, the outlook is that XRP is about to rise to a significantly high and stable value. XRP’s Rise Starts With Bank And Payment Provider Adoption XRP has always been surrounded by ambitious price projections built around adoption and its proposed role in international fund transfers. Some of these forecasts have stretched as high as $25,000, based on the belief that a large-scale payment utility could eventually transform the cryptocurrency’s market value. Related Reading: Pundit Shares The Most Important Thing To Remember About XRP SMQKE’s outlook follows a similar adoption-based argument, although it does not attach a specific price target to XRP. Instead, the focus is on how XRP could rise to a much higher and more stable value over time, and it starts with adoption. According to him, the more banks integrate Ripple’s distributed ledger technology for international payments, the more transaction flow can move across the network. This is the foundation of the bullish case: rising usage creates more demand for liquidity, and XRP is designed to sit at the center of that settlement layer. The post also pointed to payment service providers such as Finastra, Volante, and CGI as part of the wider infrastructure that could feed transaction volume into the XRP Ledger. The argument is that these providers can tap into cross-currency real-time gross settlement functions and a neutral liquidity marketplace, creating a larger flow of payments beyond direct bank-to-bank usage.  Over time, as banks adopt Ripple’s distributed ledger solution for international payments and payment service providers take advantage of the cross-currency RTGS capability and neutral liquidity marketplace provided by the XRP Ledger, the transaction volumes of the network will grow massively. A $180 Trillion Market The number at the center of SMQKE’s post is $180 trillion, which is the estimated annual volume of the international payments market that XRP is positioned to serve as a bridge currency.  Related Reading: XRP OI Z-Score Just Dropped To Levels Seen Before Its 600% Rally In 2024 According to him, XRP is in the right position to become the best liquidity vehicle for these payment markets. That is the size of the market XRP is positioned to serve, and this is another factor as to why the XRP price will surge massively. SMQKE also pointed to XRP’s supply structure as another reason the token could rise over time. XRP’s maximum supply is capped at 100 billion tokens. Although calculations using this number make ultra-bullish price targets unrealistic, the saving grace is that XRP tokens cannot be mined, and the supply will constantly decrease. SMQKE also addressed XRP’s volatility as another factor why it’s set to rise, noting that wider demand could make the price more stable as usage becomes more constant due to a steady demand for XRP as a bridging currency. Featured image from Getty Images, chart from Tradingview.com

XRP holders are seeing measurable developments on the XRP Ledger that signal growing network activity and expanding real-world use cases. Recent data posted by crypto enthusiast @mrcauliman on X points to several indicators suggesting the infrastructure supporting XRP is evolving in ways investors should monitor closely. Surging Activity On The XRP Ledger One of the clearest developments XRP holders should watch is the increasing activity on the XRP Ledger. Metrics highlighted by @mrcauliman show the network processed around 2.4 million transactions within 24 hours, while new ledgers closed at an average interval of about 3.9 seconds. Related Reading: Industry Expert Samson Mow Reveals When The Bitcoin Price Will Hit $1M Beyond transaction numbers, the value of tokenized real-world assets (RWAs) on the ledger has been expanding. A key contributor is Ondo Finance, which has deployed around $323 million worth of tokenized assets onto the network. Additional projects, including Doppler Finance and OpenEden, have further increased the amount of traditional financial instruments represented on-chain. Stablecoin adoption is also strengthening the ledger’s financial ecosystem. The total value of stablecoins circulating on the network has climbed to roughly $446 million, led by RLUSD, a stablecoin introduced by Ripple. Stable assets are important in blockchain finance because they provide liquidity and settlement stability for trading, payments, and decentralized finance applications. For investors, these developments point to a network steadily expanding beyond its original payment-focused use case. Rising transaction volumes, increasing tokenized asset value, and growing stablecoin liquidity indicate the XRP Ledger is positioning itself as a broader financial infrastructure that could influence long-term demand for XRP. New XRPL Lending Features And Improved Efficiency Alongside increasing activity, new functionality is also being introduced to the XRP Ledger. Network participants are currently voting on amendments designed to enable native lending capabilities within the protocol. If approved, these changes would allow the ledger to support lending mechanisms directly on-chain, adding another financial layer to its existing payment and settlement features. The amendment process shows how upgrades are implemented on the network. Validators vote on proposed changes, and once a supermajority supports an amendment for a sustained period, the feature becomes active. According to the discussion highlighted by mrcauliman, the current proposals are progressing through this governance process without disruption. Related Reading: Ethereum Price To Rally 100% In 2026: Here’s Where It Will Start And End Another frequently highlighted advantage of the XRP Ledger is its energy efficiency. Unlike proof-of-work networks that require extensive computational resources, XRPL’s consensus model consumes very small amounts of electricity per transaction. Industry estimates often suggest that a single transaction on the network can use less energy than a typical online search, making it one of the more energy-efficient blockchain infrastructures currently operating. When these factors are considered together—high transaction throughput, increasing tokenized asset value, growing stablecoin liquidity, potential lending capabilities, and low energy consumption, they present a broader picture of infrastructure growth. For XRP holders, these metrics indicate that the network underpinning the asset continues expanding in functionality and real-world financial integration, developments that could shape how the ecosystem evolves in the years ahead. Featured image created with Dall.E, chart from Tradingview.com

Former Ripple CTO David Schwartz pushed back against renewed claims that XRP could reach $10,000, arguing that the market itself already provides a reality check on such extreme price targets. In an exchange on X, Schwartz framed the issue less as a debate over belief and more as a question of rational capital allocation: if sophisticated investors truly saw even a small chance of that outcome, why has XRP not already been priced far higher? Schwartz Pushes Back on XRP Moonshot Claims The discussion began after an X user asked Schwartz to comment on theories built around a crypto adaptation of Chris Burniske’s Price = PQ / (V × S) model, which some XRP supporters have used to argue for a possible $10,000 XRP. Schwartz answered with a simple market-based objection. “If there were a few very rich, very rational people who really believed that there was a 1% chance that XRP could hit $10K in 10 years, they’d bid XRP up to at least $20 today,” Schwartz wrote. “Why aren’t they? Conspiracy?” The point was not merely that $10,000 is a large number. Schwartz’s argument was that if the expected value of such a target were credible to rational, well-capitalized investors, they would not wait passively. Even assigning only a small probability to a massive future price would, in his reasoning, be enough to justify aggressive buying at far higher levels than the current market has sustained. Related Reading: XRP’s Leverage Has Been Flushed Out, But Price Is Still Holding: Find Out What Follows That Setup That answer cut directly into one of the recurring assumptions behind ultra-bullish XRP forecasts: that the market has failed to price in future institutional utility, settlement demand, or some latent strategy held by Ripple. Schwartz’s response suggested that markets may be imperfect, but they are not so inert that major pools of capital would ignore an asymmetric opportunity of that scale if they believed it was remotely plausible. The debate then moved to another familiar claim in XRP circles: that Ripple itself could use its own products, including Ripple Prime or treasury-related flows, to drive the asset dramatically higher. One user asked why Ripple would not “use their own stuff” through those channels and suggested it could push XRP above $100. Schwartz rejected the idea that Ripple still holds some unused mechanism capable of massively repricing XRP on command. “Maybe there was one time when you could semi-plausibly argue that Ripple had some easy way to shoot up the price of XRP massively for good but was just waiting for the right time to maximize something or other,” he wrote. “But boy, it’s hard to argue that today. For one thing, circumstances have changed so much that it’s hard to imagine we’ve held onto this magic switch for so long and it’s still just waiting to go.” Related Reading: Peter Brandt Puts XRP Bulls on Alert With New Support Chart He added that Ripple has already explained its strategy, even if the company does not disclose every internal detail. “We’ve explained what we’re doing, why we’re doing it, and what we hope to achieve,” Schwartz wrote. “While we aren’t transparent about everything, we’re not hiding some grand conspiracy. At least not as far as I know.” Another user argued that wealthy investors often focus on wealth preservation rather than high-risk bets. Schwartz countered that this misunderstands how large pools of capital often behave. “The way rich people preserve wealth is by taking bigger risks than other people can stand to take,” he replied. The exchange continued when another user suggested that very wealthy buyers would accumulate XRP over the counter rather than on centralized exchanges, limiting visible price impact. Schwartz conceded that could be true initially, but argued it would not change the broader conclusion. “At first,” he wrote. “But they wouldn’t stop until they had moved the price or run out of money.” At press time, XRP traded at $1.3749. Featured image created with DALL.E, chart from TradingView.com

A crypto market analyst has suggested that XRP appears to be forming “one of its most significant multi-year structural patterns to date,” which could lead the altcoin to a rally similar to its 2017 expansion. Related Reading: Ethereum Poised For $140% Rally If This Resistance Flips – Analyst Calls Breakout Inevitable XRP Eyes 2017-Like Expansion On Thursday, market observer ChartNerd stated that XRP appears to be repeating a setup that may surpass the scale of the 2017 pre-breakout formation, which led to a massive 68,000% expansion during that cycle. In a video, the analyst explained that the altcoin has been developing since 2020, when the price saw its bear market bottom and created an ascending support level that held for nearly six years. Since then, XRP has resembled its pre-2017 performance, where the cryptocurrency experiences significant advances after retesting its ascending support, followed by sharp corrections within descending channels. As the chart shows, the altcoin recorded a 10x move between 2020 and 2021, which was followed by the 2022 bear market. After bottoming, XRP saw another 2x rally before retesting the trendline for the first time. The price then rallied another 6-7x between late 2024 and mid-2025, leading to the July all-time high (ATH) of $3,65.  Now, the cryptocurrency is developing a similar corrective pattern to the previous two retests of the ascending support, which could suggest the potential for 1,992% rally to a double-digit target upon confirmation. “If XRP respects this pattern into late 2026, this is where we could potentially create the third retest, which is what we saw in the early cycles before the expansion in 2017,” the analyst asserted. He also added that “if we are repeating this sort of multi-year cycle from before, just on a larger scale here, then this could be one of the largest structural phases where XRP is building a base and waiting for the leg up.” Consolidation Until Late May? ChardNerd also shared a short-term outlook for XRP based on its performance over the past 11 weeks. He noted that on the daily timeframe, the altcoin is still hovering between major descending resistance and ascending support levels, forming a triangle pattern. So, you can see, since we actually formed the base back here in February, we worked down to $1.11, created the resistance, which came back to create this ascending level of support roughly at $1.28. Then we’ve seen this break up to sort of $1.50, and we’ve now pulled back to the support line once again. Taking this into consideration, alongside the fact that its RSI levels are oversold on the daily timeframe, the analyst believes that XRP could be building a base near the ascending support before attempting to retest the descending resistance. Related Reading: Bitcoin Faces ‘Most Critical Week In Months’ Amid $76,000 Retest – Should Investors Worry? Nonetheless, he observed that “because we’re converging in this range and it’s been about 8 to 9, maybe 10 weeks of range-bound price action, it would be likely that we still see this compression” squeeze into the pattern’s apex until at least mid-May, when the price is expected to see a directional breakout from the formation. Ultimately, the market observer suggested that “as long as we respect the trend line and continue to defend ascending support (…), it’s looking for a retest back towards sort of $1.50 in the short term.” Featured Image from Unsplash.com, Chart from TradingView.com

Veteran trader Peter Brandt has shared a weekly chart and asked traders how deep they think XRP could fall into support. The post matters because Brandt’s chart frames XRP not as a clean momentum breakout, but as a market still trying to prove that its late-2024 range expansion can hold as support. Brandt, posting from @PeterLBrandt account on X, addressed the XRP crowd directly. “Attention all Ripplettes,” he wrote. “How deep into support do you Ripplettes think price could go? XRP. See chart.” What This Means For XRP The chart attached to the post showed XRP/USDT on Binance on a weekly timeframe. Brandt marked out a broad structure that begins with XRP’s long base through 2023 and much of 2024, then the sharp vertical breakout in late 2024, followed by a wide consolidation and eventual pullback. The key level near $1.55 appears to be central to the setup. In technical terms, it’s a former range-reclaim. Related Reading: Pundit Shares The Most Important Thing To Remember About XRP That $1.55 region also explains why Brandt’s chart is uncomfortable for bulls. XRP has already slipped below. Once a market loses a prior range, technicians often look for the next areas where buyers previously absorbed supply. Brandt’s lower horizontal lines seem to map those zones: one near the recent consolidation lows, another around the deeper post-breakout support, and then the broader ascending base that defined XRP’s pre-breakout structure. The poll attached to the post made that support map explicit. Brandt offered four choices: “Bottom is in,” “Support at .93xx,” “Support at .72xx,” and “Slightly above zero.” The $0.93 area appears to come from a descending trendline which originates at the 2021 high. The $0.72 area is deeper. On the weekly chart, it aligns with the ascending trendline of XRP’s old 2023–2024 base and the rising long-term support line that preceded the late-2024 move. In other words, it is not just a random number. It represents a possible full retest of the prior breakout structure. The broader pattern Brandt appears to be highlighting is a failed or stressed range breakout after a large advance. XRP broke out of a long accumulation-style range, rallied aggressively above $3, then formed a wide top-like consolidation with multiple failed attempts to extend higher. Related Reading: XRP Faces Fragile Setup As Whale Selling Meets Retail Buying For XRP bulls, the first answer depends on the $1.55 area. If price can reclaim and hold that level on the weekly timeframe, the chart would look more like a deep retest of a breakout zone than a full structural failure. A reclaim would suggest that buyers are still defending the former range boundary and that the market has not fully surrendered the post-breakout advance. Without that reclaim, however, the lower support levels in Brandt’s poll become more relevant because price would remain below the shelf that previously supported the consolidation. The poll results showed how split traders were on that risk. “Bottom is in” had 27% of the vote, “Support at .72xx” also had 27%, and “Slightly above zero” drew another 27%. The more moderate option, “Support at .93xx,” had 19% and was marked as the selected choice in the screenshot. At press time, the poll had received 364 votes with nearly 12 hours remaining while XRP traded at $1.3941. Featured image created with DALL.E, chart from TradingView.com

Crypto pundit SMQKE has shared an important thing that XRP holders have to remember when it comes to the altcoin’s price. He alluded to the token’s historical price appreciation and noted that XRP is better positioned to record more significant gains following Ripple’s recent acquisitions.  What To Remember About XRP’s Price In an X post, SMQKE reminded XRP holders that the token delivered nearly 350x returns between 2017 and 2018, while Bitcoin and Ethereum gained 14x and 100x, respectively, during that period. He noted that this means XRP’s price increase was roughly 24x steeper than Bitcoin’s.  Related Reading: XRP Ledger Hits New RWA Milestone, But Will This Have Any Impact On The Price? The pundit remarked that this occurred before Ripple completed any of its major institutional acquisitions, with XRP recording those gains simply due to early network momentum. Now, the fundamentals are believed to be more bullish as Ripple has completed strategic acquisitions of over $3 billion since 2017 to build institutional-grade infrastructure.  SMQKE stated that these key moves include Ripple’s 2023 acquisition of Metaco for $250 million, which now provides bank-grade custody used by G-SIBs. In 2024, the crypto firm acquired Standard Custody, which is a New York-regulated trust services provider. Most of its acquisitions came last year, which have been bullish for XRP.  Ripple acquired Hidden Road, which is now Ripple Prime, for $1.25 billion. SMQKE noted that this is a prime brokerage that clears trillions annually. Ripple also acquired the stablecoin payments platform Rail, the corporate treasury management platform GTreasury, and the wallet and custody provider Palisade last year.  The pundit stated that these acquisitions create a much stronger foundation for durable price appreciation in XRP. He also alluded to the potential integration of XRP into SWIFT, FedNow, and DTCC. Based on this, SMQKE remarked that the altcoin’s past returns may have only been a preview of what its future network value could become.  Why Price Is Still Low SMQKE alluded to a statement from former Ripple executive Marcus Treacher, who noted that XRP isn’t a speculative currency but rather a long-term play for the future. He highlighted how the altcoin could grow massively in value over the long term as a result of what Ripple is building with XRP.  Related Reading: XRP OI Z-Score Just Dropped To Levels Seen Before Its 600% Rally In 2024 Treacher noted that transforming how payments work worldwide is a big deal and that once they achieve this with the XRP Ledger, everything else will start to fall into place. Meanwhile, SMQKE mentioned that news doesn’t move prices and that utility does. As such, he suggested that the focus should be on expanding XRP’s use cases and that the price will rise significantly as the altcoin continues to gain adoption.  At the time of writing, the XRP price is trading at around $1.39, up in the last 24 hours, according to data from CoinMarketCap. Featured image from Adobe Stock, chart from Tradingview.com

XRP’s on-chain profile is flashing a conflicted market structure, with valuation metrics showing holders underwater while derivatives positioning remains heavily skewed to the long side. A granular on-chain report from Alphractal’s AI assistant suggests the asset is caught between retail accumulation, whale distribution and fragile leverage conditions. The report places XRP’s spot price at $1.3944 against a realized price of $1.4881, meaning the token trades at a 6.29% discount to its aggregate cost basis. Its MVRV ratio stands at 0.9613, below the 1.0 threshold often used to indicate that the average holder is sitting on unrealized losses. NUPL, meanwhile, is negative at -4.03%, classified in the report as “Fear.” That valuation backdrop is not, on its own, a clean bullish signal. The report describes the setup as one where XRP has entered unrealized loss territory without reaching deep historical distress. “XRP trades at a -6.29% discount to its aggregate cost basis ($1.3944 vs $1.4881), placing the network in aggregate unrealized loss territory. The MVRV sub-1.0 reading (0.9613) confirms the average holder is underwater, while NUPL at -4.03% signals capitulation-grade sentiment without full-blown distress.” Related Reading: XRP’s Recovery Is Real, But The Risk Appetite Behind It Is Still Broken – Analyst The tension becomes clearer in network activity. Active addresses rose 25.61% over seven days to 50,259, yet transaction count fell 21.39% over the same period to 2.05 million. Adjusted on-chain volume reached $28.64 billion, equal to 33.29% of market cap turnover, according to the report. That combination points less to broad-based transactional acceleration and more to larger-value movement across fewer transactions. Alphractal’s interpretation is that the network is seeing a form of activity divergence. Wallet participation is rising, but transaction frequency is falling. The report argues this “suggests larger, value-consolidating transactions rather than high-frequency small transfers,” with wallets reactivating to move larger balances rather than producing a simple surge in everyday usage. XRP Long Squeeze Risk Grows Exchange data adds another layer. XRP exchange reserves stand at 3.65 billion tokens, worth about $5.03 billion, representing 5.91% of circulating supply. Reserves are down 0.49% over seven days, while the 365-day delta growth rate is deeply negative at -114.31%. The report frames this as evidence of structural supply tightening, with long-term holder accumulation pressure exceeding new demand inflows. Related Reading: XRP Leads Altcoin Debate As Crypto Flashes Mixed Signals Yet the derivatives market shows a more vulnerable picture. Open interest sits at $1.49 billion, equivalent to 1.73% of XRP’s market capitalization. The long/short ratio is 2.4002, indicating a 2.40:1 long bias, while 24-hour liquidations totaled $3.8 million. Of that, $3.64 million came from long positions and just $162,150 from shorts, meaning long liquidations made up roughly 95.7% of the total. That skew matters because the report also identifies a negative Whale vs Retail Delta of -0.8378. In the report’s reading, retail participants are accumulating while larger entities are distributing. At the same time, top trader sentiment remains bullish at 2.0987, suggesting more sophisticated derivatives participants have not abandoned the long side despite the spot distribution signal. This creates the core fragility in XRP’s current setup. “Derivatives show aggressive long leverage with a 2.40:1 long/short ratio, yet the Whale vs Retail Delta at -0.84 reveals retail accumulation while large entities distribute. This structural conflict, retail buying spot, whales selling, with retail also leveraged long, creates fragility. The liquidation skew (95.7% long liquidations vs 4.3% short) confirms recent long squeezes.” Alphractal’s conclusion is cautious rather than decisively bearish. The combination of MVRV below 1.0 and negative NUPL can indicate value emerging after holder capitulation, but the report argues that whale distribution and crowded long positioning complicate that reading. At press time, XRP traded at $1.39. Featured image created with DALL.E, chart from TradingView.com

A video circulating on X this week has led one of the most persistent debates in the XRP community: just how high can the cryptocurrency’s price go? The clip, shared by pseudonymous account XRP Bags, features a woman describing what she calls a divine vision in which the altcoin appeared on her personal trading platform at a price of $25,000.  This is not the first time XRP has been subjected to ultra-bullish price predictions, but most of them have been based on technical analysis and/or the premise of adoption.  A $25,000 XRP Prediction Rooted In A Vision The prediction in question originates from a crypto commentator who claims the figure was revealed through a vision, not through market analysis or financial modeling. According to her account, she saw an exchange interface, the same one she uses to place buy and sell orders, and within it, XRP was priced at $25,000. Related Reading: Ethereum Price To Rally 100% In 2026: Here’s Where It Will Start And End This prediction was initially shared by a well-known XRP community member account known as XRP Bags, and it immediately separates the claim from conventional forecasts. Most price targets, even the more ambitious ones above $10,000, are built on the premise of liquidity in the tune of trillions of dollars flowing through the XRP Ledger or regulatory developments. In this case, the foundation is entirely different, placing it outside the usual frameworks used by analysts and institutions. Her description adds another uncertainty to how much the vision actually puts the XRP price trading at. The denomination of the price was not entirely clear, leaving open the possibility that it may have been displayed in a stablecoin such as USDT or USDC, or even in pounds. “Coming out of that experience, I think I came out thinking it was 25,000 pounds. I’m not sure, but I’ll be honest with you between then and now I’m not sure if it was pounds or USDC or USDT,” she said. Where Does The Altcoin Stand Today? XRP’s current price reality is far from double digits, let alone the extravagant $25,000 price target. XRP is trading at $1.39 as of the time of writing. Therefore, the current state of the altcoin provides a useful basis for what would need to change for any version of that number to become meaningful.  Related Reading: Why The 42% Crash From ATH Is Actually Good For Bitcoin And The Crypto Market There are, however, measurable developments supporting the altcoin’s longer-term outlook. Spot XRP ETF products have received cumulative inflows of approximately $1.29 billion since launching in November 2025. April alone has recorded about $83.83 million in net inflows, making it the strongest month of the year so far. This steady accumulation shows confidence is building among institutional investors, which is one factor alongside regulations and adoption from banks that could support its long-term outlook. Models from Bitwise place the realistic upside target for XRP at $4.94 for end-2026, with $2.80 representing the moderate base case under current conditions. A $100 XRP price is theoretically possible over decades but not under current structural conditions, let alone $25,000. Featured image from Dall.E, chart from TradingView.com