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Ripple’s push into traditional finance appears to have taken another step forward after its institutional brokerage platform, Hidden Road, was listed in the National Securities Clearing Corporation (NSCC) directory under the Depository Trust & Clearing Corporation (DTCC).  The implications of this development, which recently went live, are massive for both Ripple and XRP. Members of the XRP community are seeing the development as a signal that Ripple is steadily positioning itself inside the infrastructure that powers conventional financial markets. Hidden Road’s DTCC Listing Places Ripple Inside Wall Street’s Infrastructure On March 2, 2026, a quiet but seismic event occurred in the crypto world. The Depository Trust & Clearing Corporation, the backbone of the US securities market, officially added Hidden Road Partners CIV US LLC to its National Securities Clearing Corporation (NSCC) Market Participant Identifiers directory.  Related Reading: Ripple Exec Clears The Air On Blocked XRP Transactions – When Does It Happen? Ripple’s decision to acquire Hidden Road was already one of the boldest moves the crypto industry had ever seen. Hidden Road, now operating as Ripple Prime following Ripple’s $1.25 billion acquisition in 2025, is a global prime brokerage. Before Ripple acquired the company, Hidden Road was already processing financing trades for over 300 institutional clients, moving approximately $3 trillion annually.  Gaining a listing on the NSCC directory grants a firm direct operational standing within the post-trade workflows used by the world’s largest financial institutions. Ripple has done something no crypto company has done before: it has embedded itself into the very machinery of Wall Street. The NSCC listing means Ripple Prime can now process over-the-counter trades through the NSCC’s centralized clearing system.  Ripple’s former CTO, David Schwartz, also acknowledged the development on X, responding to a post about the update with the short remark: “Seems important.” Interestingly, Schwartz also noted that the update comes from something that’s been in the works since a bit before Ripple’s acquisition of Hidden Road and rebranding to Ripple Prime was 100% final. XRP Holders See The Writing On The Wall The XRP community’s reaction has been a mix of serious institutional analysis and unmistakable excitement. Many holders see the DTCC listing as the clearest signal yet that Ripple is no longer building toward mainstream finance but is now arriving inside it. That perspective gained further traction after David Schwartz publicly reacted to the update with his brief response. Related Reading: The Uncomfortable Truth About XRP That Shows How High Price Can Actually Go “Important milestone for Ripple Prime,” wrote one X user. Another X user known as SMQKE noted that Ripple’s Hidden Road acquisition and the recent move will supercharge XRP’s utility.  The contention is that Ripple Prime will start to gradually move parts of its post-trade processes onto the XRP Ledger. Even if only a portion of that institutional volume were to eventually move through XRPL-based settlement systems, the development could significantly increase blockchain activity tied to Ripple’s ecosystem. Featured image from Getty Images, chart from Tradingview.com

Crypto analyst Amonyx recently drew attention to a CNBC video in which XRP was described as the hottest crypto trader of the year, ahead of Bitcoin and Ethereum. This comes as the XRP ETFs continue to see inflows even as other crypto funds see outflows.  Why The Altcoin Is The Top Trade Over Bitcoin and Ethereum In an X post, Amonyx shared the CNBC video in which XRP was described as the top trade ahead of Bitcoin and Ethereum. The analyst then questioned whether the market was seeing something or about to. CNBC’s Mackenzie Sigalos noted that the token was already gaining a lot of attention towards the end of last year, with investors piling into the XRP ETFs while the spot Bitcoin and Ethereum ETFs saw outflows.  Related Reading: What Happens To The XRP Price If It Follows The Amazon Trend And Begins Parabola She further stated that these investors likely saw XRP as a less crowded trade than Bitcoin and Ethereum as crypto prices declined in the fourth quarter of last year. Sigalos added that this trade had paid off, considering that the altcoin recorded a 20% gain at the start of the year. Meanwhile, she also touched on XRP’s use case and why it might be gaining so much attention.  The CNBC news host noted that XRP and Solana are the two most popular altcoins right now and that XRP has gained prominence for its utility in cross-border payments. Sigalos also suggested that XRP, alongside Solana, may have an edge over Bitcoin and Ethereum in terms of having more room to rally to the upside.  Regarding blockchain adoption, she noted that users and investors may be turning to cheaper, faster networks like Solana over Bitcoin and Ethereum, especially for payments and tokenization. The XRP Ledger is also gaining traction for tokenization, recently surpassing Solana in terms of tokenized value on the network, according to RWA.xyz.  XRP ETFs Continue To See Inflows SoSoValue data shows that the XRP ETFs continue to see daily net inflows even as the crypto market wavers. These funds are currently on a five-day streak of consecutive net inflows and have notably only seen six days of outflows since the start of the year. They currently boast net assets of $1.02 billion, which represents 1.20% of XRP’s market cap. Related Reading: Analyst Says XRP’s $15 Target Has Still Not Changed – Here’s Why However, the XRP funds recorded lower inflows than the Bitcoin, Ethereum, and Solana funds last week. A CoinShares report revealed that the XRP funds saw weekly flows of $1.9 million last week. On the other hand, the BTC, ETH, and SOL funds recorded weekly flows of $881.5 million, $116.9 million, and $53.8 million.  At the time of writing, the XRP price is trading at around $1.36, up in the last 24 hours, according to data from CoinMarketCap. Featured image from Freepik, chart from Tradingview.com

Versan Aljarrah of Black Swan Capitalist is making a broader case for XRP than the usual market-cycle prediction. In a X post titled How XRP Becomes a Global Reserve Asset, he argues that XRP’s long-term role is not limited to payments or bridge liquidity, but could extend to becoming a neutral settlement layer inside a digitized global financial system. Aljarrah’s central point is that the XRP debate has been trapped in the wrong frame. “The conversation around XRP is usually clouded by speculation and price predictions,” he wrote. “But beneath all the noise lies a far more fascinating story, one that bridges regulation, sovereign integration, and institutional recognition at the highest levels of global finance. The true potential for XRP isn’t just as a payments token or bridge asset. It’s a foundational layer in a digitized financial order where liquidity, interoperability, and neutrality are all that matter.” How XRP Becomes A Global Reserve Asset That thesis rests on three pillars. “To understand how XRP evolves into a global reserve asset, there are a few pillars that must align, sovereign adoption, regulatory clarity, and institutional recognition, which ultimately comes from the IMF,” Aljarrah wrote. In his telling, the process starts with nation-state usage rather than market enthusiasm. Related Reading: US-Iran War Sparks Crypto Fear, But XRP Stands Out He argues that reserve assets derive legitimacy from official acceptance, not price action. “Before any asset can become a global reserve instrument, it first needs sovereign legitimacy,” he wrote. “Reserve assets, whether gold, the US dollar, or Electronic Special Drawing Rights (ESDRs) derive their credibility not from market speculation but from their acceptance and usage by nation-states.” From there, Aljarrah shifts to how XRP could fit into cross-border finance, especially for countries looking to reduce dependence on dollar-based settlement systems. “Emerging markets are all exploring blockchain-based solutions to improve liquidity, reduce costs, and stabilize their currencies,” he wrote.“For nations with volatile or dollar-dependent economies like the BRICS, XRP’s design presents a unique advantage as a neutral settlement bridge, meaning it can connect local currencies without forcing countries into the geopolitical influence of the military-industrial complex that comes with the dollar-based system.” That leads into one of the strongest claims in the thread. “Therefore, it is not a matter of ‘if,’ but ‘when’ nations begin leveraging XRP to solve monetary inefficiencies,” Aljarrah said. “Countries all over the world have already integrated XRP into their payment rails and are already using it for cross-border settlements. That sets the stage for global institutional acknowledgment.” The next phase, in his view, is legal clarity. Aljarrah points to the CLARITY Act as a turning point because it could make XRP more accessible to institutions and sovereigns if Ripple’s influence over supply is reduced far enough. “By reducing its holdings, Ripple effectively decentralizes its influence over XRP, making it legally neutral, non-sovereign, and globally accessible, requirements for an asset to achieve reserve and settlement status,” he wrote. “Once Ripple’s holdings fall under the Clarity Act’s compliance thresholds, institutional adoption accelerates, and sovereign nations can hold and transact with XRP without triggering securities laws.” Related Reading: XRP Faces $650 Million Sell Risk As US-Iran Conflict Sparks Risk-Off Move Only after those two conditions are met does Aljarrah bring in the IMF. He argues that in a tokenized financial system, XRP could begin to resemble a programmable reserve settlement instrument. “Once integrated as a reserve asset, the valuation of XRP would be determined by its settlement utility, liquidity depth, and transaction output within a network of sovereign participants and multilateral institutions such as the BRICS,” he wrote. “This is probably the most important piece because price discovery would shift from noise to institutional liquidity corridors, where value reflects the asset’s function in global settlement operations. In essence, XRP’s price would be measured by how much value it moves.” Aljarrah closes by framing XRP less as a speculative crypto asset and more as infrastructure. “This isn’t just about XRP, it’s about the transition from a centralized, dollar-dominated financial order to a multipolar, interoperable system powered by digital assets, infrastructure, and neutral settlement technologies,” he wrote. For readers following the XRP story, the message is clear: this is not a near-term trading thesis, but a long-horizon argument about reserve status, monetary plumbing and the future architecture of global liquidity. At press time, XRP traded at $1.3576. Featured image created with DALL.E, chart from TradingView.com

Rising tensions around the Strait of Hormuz, one of the world’s most critical oil chokepoints, have sent shockwaves through global markets, driving oil price volatility, rattling currencies, and exposing vulnerabilities in cross-border trade flows. The Strait of Hormuz chaos could spark the XRP moment, and Ripple’s new financial era has ignited amid global oil turmoil.  Crypto analyst Pumpius revealed on X that the Strait of Hormuz handles roughly 20% of the global oil flows, but the US and Israel strikes on Iran have slashed vessel traffic by 70%. According to coverage from Reuters and The New York Times (NYT), major tankers are suspending operations.  How Ripple Positions Itself As A Payments Infrastructure Play This Strait serves as a critical energy lifeline for major Asian economies, including China, India, Japan, and South Korea, which rely heavily on the 70-80% route for crude imports. With limited bypass alternative routes, even partial disruption threatens severe supply shocks, and the possibility of oil surging past $100 per barrel becomes high, a risk scenario highlighted by Al Jazeera. Related Reading: Why XRP Retail Holders Are Positioned Ahead Of Institutional Adoption Pumpius suggested that this geopolitical firestorm could accelerate Ripple’s and XRP revolution. With the ISO 20022 adoption ramping up and the Central Bank Digital Currency (CBDC) on the horizon, Ripple technology could be positioned as the backbone of a new, resilient global financial order, bypassing chokepoints of fiat chaos. While the crypto markets held relatively steady over the weekend, the US open on Monday could unleash the risk-off waves. For XRP, this might be the catalyst for escalating a faster shift to digital assets. Why Dubai Is Quietly Building On XRP Ledger The growing adoption of the XRP Ledger by UAE companies is no coincidence. An analyst known as Xfinancebull has stated that Ripple is the first blockchain payments provider to receive licensing approval from the Dubai Financial Services Authority (DFSA) within the country’s International Financial Centre. This milestone grants Ripple full regulatory authorization to offer cross-border crypto payment services in the UAE. Related Reading: XRP Ledger Positioned For Real World Asset Explosion As Securitize Teases $400-T Market With regulatory approval secured, major real-world asset projects are now building directly on the XRP Ledger. Billiton Diamond has tokenized $280 million in certified diamonds on XRPL, with assets secured by Ripple Custody and infrastructure support from Ctrl Alt. At the same time, real estate title deeds are being tokenized with the Dubai Land Department through the same pipeline. Meanwhile, the total real-world assets (RWA) have surpassed $2 billion. The UAE continued to prefer the XRP Ledger because Ripple already has the regulatory green light that other chains are waiting for. Ripple holds more than 60 licenses globally, including approvals from the DFSA, MAS, NYDFS, and the Central Bank of Ireland. Also, the regulated infrastructure tends to attract institutional flows; this is not theory, but what is happening right in Dubai. “From diamond today to real estate next, the rest is time, and XRP is really taking over,” Xfinancebull noted. Featured image from Render, chart from Tradingview.com

A security flaw in a proposed XRP Ledger (XRPL) upgrade could have enabled unauthorized transactions, but researchers flagged the issue before it could reach the blockchain’s main network. The XRPL Foundation said Feb. 26 that the vulnerability was found in the proposed “Batch” amendment, a feature intended to let users bundle multiple actions into a […]
The post XRP Ledger nearly shipped a feature that could drain accounts without owners signing appeared first on CryptoSlate.

The uncomfortable truth about XRP is that most people may be valuing it through the wrong lens. This point of view was made by commentator BarriC, who put forward a claim familiar among XRP enthusiasts: The altcoin was never designed to be a retail trade.  In a recent post on X, he noted that the asset was built to move institutional value, and once financial infrastructure actually requires XRP, the price will not climb slowly. Instead, it will reprice to levels the system demands. XRP As Infrastructure, Not A Trade BarriC’s outlook on XRP’s price action is based on the idea that XRP’s purpose has been misunderstood. From the beginning, the XRP Ledger was structured to facilitate high-speed settlement, cross-border liquidity, and asset tokenization, where people can be their own bank and no middlemen tax their transactions. XRPL creators like David Schwartz have always pointed to these functionalities as the reason why the XRP Ledger is different.  Related Reading: Cup And Handle Pattern Puts XRP Price At $60 After Hitting Resistance XRP is the bridge asset within that XRPL ecosystem. Through services built by Ripple, XRP has been positioned as a tool for on-demand liquidity between currencies and financial institutions. The reason offered by BarriC is that if banks and payment providers depend on it to settle value efficiently, demand would be based on usage, not just speculative trading like an average cryptocurrency. Under that framework, XRP’s valuation would no longer be based on retail buying pressure. It would reflect how much capital needs to flow through the network. How High Can The Price Actually Go? The most interesting part of BarriC’s statement is how much necessity pricing will affect the token’s price. The outlook is that when the token finally becomes required infrastructure, it does not grind higher step by step like a meme-based rally. Instead, it is going to reprice abruptly. That is why he dismisses price anchors such as $2 or even the three-digit mark at $100.  Related Reading: Why This Expert Is Predicting A $10,000 Base Price For XRP If the necessity pricing were to happen, the price action is going to look more like $1,000 per XRP, $10,000 per XRP, or $50,000 per XRP. However, BarriC acknowledged that projections of $1,000 to $50,000 sound unrealistic under today’s conditions. This is especially true, considering the implied market cap if the altcoin were to trade at those predicted price levels. At the time of writing, XRP is trading within normal market structures and is currently trading at $1.37, up by 2.7% in the past 24 hours. Institutional usage of the altcoin is still limited compared to global payment volumes. However, recent moves by Ripple are increasingly seeing XRP becoming entrenched in the niche of global payments. It is currently unclear which path this price repricing will take, as there is no historical precedent in crypto markets for an asset transitioning into deeply embedded global payments settlement infrastructure. Therefore, projections from BarriC and other bullish XRP proponents are only forward-looking predictions. Featured image from RenderHub, chart from Tradingview.com

A crypto analyst and XRP enthusiast known as BarriC recently noted that XRP could experience two very different types of rallies: a retail-driven run or a utility-driven run. The price outcomes under each scenario would not only differ in magnitude but also in structure and sustainability. A retail surge could push the token into the $5 to $10 range. However, a broader utility run tied to global adoption could, in his view, send prices far beyond the double-digit price range. What To Expect With A Retail Run For XRP A retail run refers to a rally that’s based on inflows from individual investors. This type of move is usually due to hype, social media momentum, fear of missing out, and capital rotating into large-cap altcoins from individual retail and whale investors. Related Reading: A $117 Million XRP Deal Just Happened, And No One Knows Who Did It This is a scenario XRP’s price action has been subjected to multiple times. where demand spikes quickly, trading volume surges, and breakout levels are chased. Gains can materialize within weeks and months, especially if the broader crypto market enters a bullish phase. According to BarriC, the next retail-driven cycle could push the price to a price target between $5 and $10. That projection is on what retail enthusiasm alone can achieve. However, retail rallies tend to be volatile and can retrace once sentiment cools, and capital rotates away from the crypto industry. What A Utility Run Looks Like For The Altcoin A utility run is fundamentally different from a retail-based run. A utility run would be driven by sustained real-world usage of the XRP Ledger and integration of Ripple’s payment infrastructure into global finance. Related Reading: Analyst Predicts XRP Price Will Reach $13 In 3 Months As Accumulation Ends According to BarriC, with a utility run, we could see prices for XRP starting at a minimum of $100 and then moving rapidly to $1,000. Then we could see the altcoin skyrocketing from there into the $10,000 to $50,000 price range.  XRP was designed to facilitate cross-border settlements, liquidity provisioning, and fast value transfer. The outlook is that demand would come from usage once banks, payment providers, and financial institutions start to adopt XRP and the XRP Ledger at scale for on-demand liquidity and tokenization of real-world assets. Speaking of XRP utility, XRP’s utility is a symbiotic relationship with the XRP Ledger. According to XRPL validator Vet, you cannot do anything on XRPL without XRP. “XRP is in the middle of everything,” he said. These comments were made in a recent YouTube podcast where Vet explained that the Ledger was never built as a single-asset chain like Bitcoin. From launch, the XRP Ledger included a native decentralized exchange, tokenization through issued assets, and features of a multi-asset ledger. Users can create stablecoins, tokenize assets, and trade directly on-chain without relying on external smart contracts. XRP is at the middle of all these functionalities, and therefore, a utility price run is based on infrastructural adoption of the XRP Ledger. Featured image from Getty Images, chart from Tradingview.com

XRP developers have proposed a new amendment that would introduce Batch Transactions on the XRP Ledger (XRPL). Vet, an XRPL dUNL validator, has revealed that the amendment was still under voting by validators. He also shared key insights into the proposed amendment, highlighting the main benefits it would bring to the ecosystem and some recent challenges it has faced.  About The New XRP Ledger Amendment The new amendment, XLS-56d: Batch Transactions, was created by Denis Angell, a software engineer at XRPL Labs. According to reports, the amendment will make it even easier for developers to build applications that can generate revenue directly on-chain. It will also simplify the process of offering paid features and help automate transaction flows. Related Reading: A Major XRP Ledger Win That Most Investors Might Have Missed Notably, Vet stated that the highly anticipated amendment would enable developers to execute multiple transactions atomically. He explained that this capability would support project monetization, trustless swaps, and enable businesses to issue service charges more sustainably. Additionally, it would help settle multiple accounts and assets atomically. To provide further context on the new amendment, Vet referenced a publication by Shawn Xie, a developer at RippleX. In the article, Xie explained the concept of atomic execution and outlined how the new batch amendment would enhance the XRPL ecosystem.  He explained that Batch Transactions allow developers to bundle up to eight transactions into a single atomic package, ensuring that all transfers are executed according to the set rules. This approach delivers more predictable, reliable outcomes, representing a significant advancement in programmability without relying on smart contracts.  For the XRP Ledger, Xie has stated that the amendment would create opportunities for cleaner code and safer applications. He emphasized that it would improve user experience by eliminating issues such as partial mints, broken offers, or failed transfers. Additionally, it will allow transactions to be grouped logically and signed together. Other benefits of the proposed amendment include introducing new monetization paths and design patterns. Xie also noted that Batch Transactions would enable immediate utility across many real-world sectors, including platform fees, DEX swaps, trustless multi-account swaps, fallback withdrawals, and NFT minting/offerings.  Batch Amendment Runs Into Bug Issues While still under validator voting, the XRP Ledger Foundation reported that the Batch amendment had run into a bug, discovered through the platform’s Bug Bounty program, before activation. The foundation has revealed that the issue has been resolved and the XRPL network remains unaffected and fully secure.  Related Reading: What Happens Now That The XRP Price Has Revisited The October 10 Lows? The foundation has advised XRPL validators to veto the Batch amendment while the team reviews the community-submitted bug report. They said the community’s collaboration was instrumental in catching the issue early and preventing potential disruptions.  Following this, Vet has shared an update, announcing that a new XRP software update will arrive next week, deprecating the current Batch amendment. He said follow-ups will likely include a detailed bug report and another software release introducing a fixed version of the amendment. Featured image from Free3D, chart from Tradingview.com

t54.ai has launched an x402 “facilitator” on the XRP Ledger (XRPL), a payments relay that lets AI agents pay for API calls and digital services in-line with normal HTTP requests using XRP or RLUSD. The pitch is simple: turn pay-per-request into a native part of the web stack, no accounts, no API keys, and settlement that happens on-chain. AI Agents Can Now Pay Via XRP Ledger The release plugs XRPL into x402, an open payments standard built around the long-reserved HTTP status code 402 Payment Required. In an x402 flow, a client requests a resource, the server replies with a 402 and machine-readable payment requirements, and the client retries the request with proof of payment. Coinbase’s x402 documentation frames the goal as programmatic access “without accounts, sessions, or complex authentication,” so both humans and autonomous agents can pay for usage-based services directly over HTTP. Related Reading: The 200 Million XRP Exodus: Investors Swap Speculation For Private Custody On X, t54.ai described the facilitator as “now live on the XRPL,” adding that agents can pay with “XRP and RLUSD – no API keys, no accounts, no friction.” Another post positioned x402 as “the open standard for machine-native payments,” where the server responds with HTTP 402 “Payment Required” and the agent pays immediately, with the facilitator handling verification and settlement on-chain. Popular XRP community account BankXRP wrote via X: “t54ai just launched the x402 facilitator AI agents can now pay for API calls and services with frictionless $XRP or $RLUSD micropayments using the HTTP 402 standard. No API keys. No accounts. Instant, sub-cent fees. Real machine-to-machine economy on the fastest, most scalable ledger in crypto.” t54’s XRPL deployment is designed to be “plug and play,” emphasizing no custody and no API keys. The public documentation for the XRPL x402 facilitator says it processes x402 payments on XRPL using payer-signed presigned Payment transaction blobs, and supports XRP plus IOU tokens including RLUSD (and USDC). Resource servers verify and settle by calling standard facilitator endpoints like /verify and /settle, mirroring the core x402 architecture where the facilitator is the chain-aware component that validates payment payloads and executes settlement. Related Reading: This Korean XRP Exchange Data Has The Community Losing It t54.ai also claims the system is already “in production” with BlockRunAI, a unified gateway that provides agents access to “30+ models (GPT, Claude, Grok, etc.).” In that integration, agents pay per request via x402, and the resulting payment volume “is now settling on XRPL,” effectively turning model inference and tool calls into metered on-chain commerce. Why This Is Bullish For XRP The “bullish” framing here isn’t about a single partnership logo, it’s about inserting XRPL into a broader emerging standard for agent-native commerce. x402 is explicitly designed to be network-agnostic, but in practice, standards only become real once developers can ship them with minimal ceremony. A working facilitator on XRPL means one more credible rail for high-frequency, low-value payments where the unit economics break traditional billing. It also cleanly links XRPL’s identity—fast settlement and low fees—to a use case that’s structurally growing: autonomous software paying other software. x402’s ecosystem pages and docs emphasize pay-per-use pricing and minimal integration overhead; that aligns with agent workflows where “thousands of API calls” and tool invocations need granular billing rather than subscriptions. None of this guarantees meaningful volume. But it does make the path to volume legible: more x402-enabled endpoints, more agent clients, and more facilitators that can clear payments cheaply and predictably. At press time, XRP traded at $1.4126. sd   Featured image created with DALL.E, chart from TradingView.com

Dubai Land Department and Ctrl Alt move to the next phase of real estate tokenization project, enabling the resale of property tokens.

Crypto expert Remi has raised the possibility that XRP could have a base price of $10,000. This came as the expert noted that the XRP Ledger (XRPL) could become the go-to network for tokenization, boosting XRP’s utility.  How XRP Can Achieve A Base Price of $10,000 In an X post, Remi predicted that XRP could have a base price of $10,000. He suggested that this could happen if the altcoin has a “United States Crypto price Floor System.” Notably, he made this comment in reference to a report on the U.S. developing a critical minerals price floor system.  Related Reading: Analyst Shares XRP Roadmap To $10,000: What Happens With Each Milestone? Remi suggested that this could also happen for XRP if the U.S. eventually considers it a very important asset. Meanwhile, the expert also noted that the XRP Ledger will tokenize gold and Bitcoin, which would also boost the altcoin’s utility and possibly contribute to the base case price of $10,000.  In another X post, Remi declared that all the critical minerals will be tokenized on the XRPL with XRP as the bridge currency. He reiterated that the altcoin could reach $1,000, $10,000, and even $100,000 once these begin to happen on the XRPL. It is worth noting that the XRPL is already seeing a wave of tokenization of real-world assets (RWAs).  Billiton Diamond and Ctrl Alt announced earlier this month that they had tokenized over $280 million of certified polished diamonds. Ripple also backed the deal, with the crypto firm providing custody services for this tokenization initiative. RWA.xyz data shows that the total tokenized assets on the XRPL are currently valued at $1.9 billion. The network ranks sixth among all networks in terms of tokenized RWAs.  XRPL Gets New Upgrade  The XRP Ledger has activated the Permissioned DEX, which enables compliant institutional trading. This is expected to further boost the network’s adoption, which is positive for XRP. Commenting on this development, expert X Finance Bull noted that regulated institutions can now trade on the network with vetted counterparties.  Related Reading: Cup And Handle Pattern Puts XRP Price At $60 After Hitting Resistance He further remarked that this translates to compliant DeFi, on-chain order books, and KYC-gated trading. The expert also claimed that Ripple and its partner institutions have been waiting for this, and that the infrastructure is ready and the payment rails are open. X Finance Bull declared that this is how up to trillions of dollars will enter the XRP Ledger.  He also mentioned that the CLARITY Act, being signed into law, will be the next bullish catalyst for XRP. Once that happens, he predicts that institutional inflows into the XRP ecosystem will increase.  At the time of writing, the XRP price is trading at around $1.41, down over 4% in the last 24 hours, according to data from CoinMarketCap. Featured image from Adobe Stock, chart from Tradingview.com

The long-term value of XRP is increasingly tied to the development of the global financial infrastructure it was designed to support. Rather than relying on short-term price speculation or fixed adoption timelines, XRP was designed to operate at the plumbing level of global finance, where adoption depends on regulatory clarity, institutional integration, liquidity depth, and real transaction flow. These systems are built quietly, tested extensively, and activated only when reliability is proven. Why Financial Infrastructure Comes Before XRP Mass Adoption XRP’s journey has never been hitting precise timestamps on the chart, because utility does not operate on a calendar. An analyst known as ChartNerd on X has revealed that the journey to $27 has been a projected path for years, and based on a stack of multiple Fibonacci time maps and extension targets, the road to 2030 is where the vision fully aligns. Related Reading: Ripple’s Next Steps: Where XRP Stops Being Trade And Starts Being Infrastrucutre ChartNerd argues that what the market is witnessing right now is the groundwork for the foundation-building phase led by Ripple, following regulatory clarity from the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). This phase includes expanding institutional infrastructure, banking charters, and ETF inflows, all of which require time to scale before translating into measurable price impact. In that context, the short-term noise might fluctuate about the price action. However, the macro trend for XRP points toward progressive valuation milestones of $8, $13, and ultimately the $27 zone targets as the global settlement adoption scales. This thesis is not about timing individual candles, but about a structural shift towards 2030, where utility-driven value overtakes market speculation. How The XRP Ledger Becomes A Safe Infrastructure To Integrate The passing of the Clarity Act would mark a decisive turning point for XRP. A crypto analyst known as Bird on X has noted that the leading altcoin already has a unique level of legal clarity due to prior court rulings that confirmed it is not inherently a security when traded on secondary markets, an advantage most digital assets are still waiting to acquire. Related Reading: Japan’s XRP Integration Signals A Shift In Global Capital Flows According to Bird, the Clarity Act would move a step further by establishing a defined regulatory framework for digital assets, especially how they are classified and used, removing uncertainty for institutions, payment providers, and large-scale capital allocators. Once the rules are written into law, the biggest barrier, which is regulatory hesitation, will no longer sit in the background of every integration decision. With regulatory hesitation reduced, broader adoption can accelerate, liquidity will deepen, and real utility can finally scale at speed, because companies can now gain the confidence to build on and integrate the XRP Ledger (XRPL) without worrying about sudden rule changes. Featured image from Adobe Stock, chart from Tradingview.com

Also: EF’s Stańczak to leave ED role, XRPL member-only DEX and Ethereum revives the DAO.

The XRP price is flashing strong signs of a potential breakout, as one analyst points to a growing liquidity imbalance that could send the cryptocurrency racing toward $4. Currently trading near $1.5, which is more than 180% below that target, XRP would require substantial bullish momentum and a notable shift in market sentiment to reach this level.  Liquidity Structure Signals XRP Price Rally To $4 In a recent X post, XRP Ledger (XRPL) developer Bird said XRP is shaping up well at current levels, arguing that its broader liquidity structure now favors an aggressive upside move. Bird shared a detailed chart, explaining that most of the liquidity resting below the current price has already been cleared, reducing the likelihood of an immediate move to lower levels.  Related Reading: XRP Price Enters ‘Final Shakeout Zone’, What Investors Should Expect On the other hand, deep liquidity, particularly in the dark red zones on the chart, remains stacked above, extending toward $4. Those areas, he noted, are likely packed with short positions, leveraged trades, and stop levels.  While emphasizing that the XRP price itself does not have any specific direction or target at this current time, Bird stated that markets naturally gravitate toward liquidity because the largest concentration of orders is often found there. As the XRP price pushes into upper liquidity zones, the analyst noted that short sellers may get forced out of their positions. Since closing a short requires buying back XRP at higher prices, that process can add fresh upward pressure to the market.  Bird noted that liquidations typically create buying pressure, which can push prices higher. As prices rise, more short positions are closed, creating a self-reinforcing cycle. Moreover, as momentum grows, retail traders often jump in, further increasing volatility and driving prices up even faster.  According to the analyst, XRP has historically shown the ability to produce rapid, aggressive rallies once a liquidation-driven momentum builds. If prices begin to tap into the areas with stacked liquidity, a move toward the $4 region could happen fast, fueled by closed short positions and expanding market participation.  XRP Approaches Make Or Break Zone In a separate analysis, market analyst ‘Master of Crypto’ shared new insights into XRP’s recent price behavior and potential outlook. He stated that the cryptocurrency is currently approaching a major decision zone that could determine if it enters a fresh bullish phase or continues its previous downtrend.  Related Reading: XRP Price Has Just Reached Most Oversold Level In History And This Analyst Is Predicting A Bounce According to the analyst, after weeks of trading in a clear downtrend channel on the chart, XRP’s price is now testing the upper trendline of the structure. He predicts that if price breaks and holds above this line near $1.8 with strong volume, then a surge toward $2.00 is highly probable.  On the flip side, Master of Crypto forecasts that if XRP is rejected in this area, the cryptocurrency could experience a final pullback toward $1.4 before a real breakout. The analyst has said that XRP’s next move depends entirely on how its price reacts to the $1.8 resistance level. Featured image from Getty Images, chart from Tradingview.com

With a strong regulatory environment, proactive institutional participation, and a growing appetite for blockchain-powered financial solutions, Japan is positioning itself at the forefront of next-generation finance, and XRPL is increasingly becoming central to that vision. Japan is placing a huge bet on the XRP Ledger identity and leading protocol. Crypto analyst Stellar Rippler revealed on X that a senior banker from the Bank of Japan (BoJ), Kazuo Ueda, reportedly stated that SBI holdings has invested in XRP, XRP Ledger-native identity protocols, compliance, and lending projects. Meanwhile, that backdrop became even more significant when SBI Holdings CEO Yoshitaka Kitao said the firm holds hidden assets worth more than its officially disclosed 9% stake, which is valued at over $10 billion. Why Japan Is Looking Beyond Payments To XRPL Infrastructure Interestingly, the strategic direction becomes clearer when viewed through the lens of identity. Ripple’s president, Monica Long, has described decentralized identity on XRPL as a way to turn personal information into a secure, portable digital token that users can carry globally and selectively share, replacing reliance on centralized platforms. Related Reading: XRP Ledger DEX Metrics Flash Strong Growth As Activity Touches New Key Levels This vision is already taking shape at the infrastructure level. DNAOnChain’s XDNA applies this model with zero-knowledge proofs to transform identity and compliance data into verifiable zk-credentials. Also, these allow institutions to confirm eligibility and regulatory status without exposing sensitive information. However, the SBI’s hidden asset has extended beyond XRP, and it’s pointing toward the XRPL’s identity and zero-knowledge credential layer, where XDNA fits in as the infrastructure institutions needed. XRP is actively used as a bridge currency for liquidity on the XRP Ledger, alongside stablecoins, which are complementary. An analyst known as Vet on X has noted that recent activity on the XRPL DEX shows that RLUSD is being exchanged for EUROP, a euro-denominated stablecoin, with XRP acting as the bridge asset. By serving as an intermediary layer, XRP increases the liquidity of issued assets across the network. Furthermore, this design results in a proven, robust financial infrastructure that maximizes capital efficiency for everyday users and institutions. At the same time, market makers can make markets between the respective XRP pairs; they can hold the token because it is counterparty-free, which makes it the most efficient way to make markets. The Role Of The XRP In A Tokenized FX Future According to RippleBullWinkle, founder of Lux Lions NFT, the global foreign exchange market is moving roughly $9.6 trillion in daily volume. Related Reading: XRP Price Falls Below $1.6: You Won’t Believe What Institutions Are Doing Amid The Crash In the meantime, industry insiders are projecting an on-chain FX system for local currency stablecoins from countries around the world, in which they can settle directly on-chain against the dollar stablecoins. This is where XRP’s original design becomes relevant, because XRP was literally built to function as a bridge asset between currencies. Featured image from Adobe Stock, chart from Tradingview.com

The XRP price continues to struggle amid bear pressure within the market. On Friday, XRP rose by about 5.7%, which, while positive, was only a relief to an initial 7.1% loss seen earlier during the week. Meanwhile, a recent on-chain evaluation suggests that the XRP market could soon be entering an accumulation phase that could pave the way for strong market demand and recovery. Related Reading: XRP Set To Dethrone Bitcoin Within 6 Years, Entrepreneur Says XRP Exchange Reserves Fall To 2024 Lows In a recent post on QuickTake, pseudonymous analyst CryptoOnchain reveals that the amount of XRP on the Binance exchange has dipped extensively to the downside of the charts. This post derives its credibility from the XRP Ledger: Exchange Reserve – Binance metric. CryptoOnchain explains that the XRP exchange reserves have recently fallen to levels as low as 2.5 billion XRP. This level, notes the analyst, is the lowest yet since the early months of 2024. As of November 2024, the Binance reserves had peaked at approximately 3.2 billion in XRP, and have since taken on a downward trend. Compared to its current readings, it becomes apparent that investors have pulled more than 700 million XRP off Binance in the past 15 months. Usually, when coins are moved en masse to exchanges, it signals preparedness among investors to offload their tokens. On the other hand, reduced inflows to exchanges reflect increasing reluctance to shave off holdings and growing investor conviction. Hence, CryptoOnchain explains that the outflow of XRP from exchanges suggests a significant reduction in sell-side liquidity.   Related Reading: Bitcoin NUPL Back In Hope/Fear Region: What Happens Next? Declining Reserves, Possible Sign Of Accumulation: Analyst CryptoOnchain further explains that declining exchange reserves have often served as signs of upcoming accumulation, and could be a bullish signal in the short-term. This is because, as has been mentioned earlier, lower holdings on exchanges reflect declining appetite among market participants towards selling their holdings.  Interestingly, CryptoOnchain also points out that this current trend in exchange reserves could be telling us that investors are moving their assets out of exchanges into cold storage in order to focus on long-term growth. This present scenario paints a more optimistic view for the XRP price. The crypto pundit summarizes the situation, stating that XRP reserves hitting a two-year low could create a supply shock such that any rebound in market demand could initiate a significant price gain. As of press time, XRP holds a valuation of $1.40. CoinMarketCap data reflects that the cryptocurrency has seen a 3.07% gain over the past 24 hours. Featured image from The Economic Times, chart from Tradingview

Rumors are spreading across X after reports surfaced that executives from SWIFT and Ripple may have held a private lunch in Miami. The rumor, first highlighted on X by XRP analyst Steph, suggested that the two payment giants quietly met to discuss possible collaboration involving XRP. There has been no official confirmation from either SWIFT or Ripple that such a meeting took place, nor has there been any statement acknowledging partnership talks. Even so, the possibility alone leads to conversations as to whether Ripple and SWIFT could eventually find common ground. Ripple To Move Forward With SWIFT? Ripple has positioned itself as a technology company built to modernize cross-border payments, which is a sector that has always been dominated by SWIFT. That competitive posture has led to years of comparisons between the two.  Related Reading: How SWIFT Could End Up Working With XRP For Global Payments Ripple executives, including CEO Brad Garlinghouse, have openly discussed capturing a significant share of the cross-border payments market historically associated with SWIFT.  In one conference, Garlinghouse noted that Ripple plans to capture around 14% of SWIFT’s processing volume within the next five years.  Rumors are that a private executive luncheon recently took place between Ripple and SWIFT executives in Miami. However, this is not the first time whispers of collaboration between SWIFT and Ripple have circulated on social media. Over the years, social media has repeatedly speculated about potential integrations and transitions to XRP-based liquidity. None of those claims have materialized into a formal partnership announcement. Nevertheless, the conversation continues to attract attention from industry figures. For instance, business legend Patrick Bet-David publicly stated that he is buying XRP and sees a $100 price target if integration with SWIFT were to happen. Can SWIFT Integrate With Ripple? While speaking at the 2025 XRPL Apex Conference, Ripple CEO Brad Garlinghouse stated that the XRP Ledger could capture about 14% of the volume currently processed by SWIFT within five years. However, replacing or even integrating with SWIFT is no small task, given the company is supported by decades of activity in financial institutions. SWIFT was founded in the 1970s and connects thousands of banks worldwide in over 200 countries and territories. Related Reading: How Much Would You Have If You Put $500 In Bitcoin In 2014 Vs. XRP? Interestingly, SWIFT itself has acknowledged that blockchain technology has a role to play in the future of global finance. Back in September 2025, the company announced that it is adding a blockchain-based shared ledger to its technology infrastructure. Ripple, on the other hand, has been working tirelessly with acquisitions and partnerships to increase its footprint within institutional finance and global liquidity corridors. Acquisitions include purchases of Hidden Road and GTreasury. The company is also expanding its reach by onboarding regional banking partners across Asia, the Middle East, and Europe. The idea of SWIFT integrating with Ripple is not really far-fetched. In theory, SWIFT could continue to handle standardized messaging while also integrating distributed ledger technology for faster settlement. Featured image from Adobe Stock, chart from Tradingview.com

Crypto analyst Austin has commented on how XRP could record a 1,500% rally to $24 based on an Elliot Wave theory. He also stated that the rally will be swift, which is why the analyst warned investors to be prepared when the current correction is over.  XRP Eyes 1,500% Rally To $24 as Analyst Warns Investors To Be Prepared In an X post, Austin shared an accompanying chart showing that XRP could rally to $24 on Wave 5 of an Elliot Wave analysis. Meanwhile, the altcoin is expected to reach between $8 and $14 on Wave 3, which the analyst expects to happen anytime soon. He remarked that XRP is well-positioned to begin the macro 3rd wave into price discovery at any moment.  Related Reading: XRP Price Has Just Reached Most Oversold Level In History And This Analyst Is Predicting A Bounce Austin further mentioned that the XRP rally on this Wave 3 could be right around the corner or that it could take a while longer to work out this correction before the next impulse. However, he warned investors to be prepared because when this correction resolves, which he is confident it will, it will result in swift and violent moves to higher prices just like the Wave 1 move.  The analyst also noted that the 2.618 extension sits at $8.47 while the 4.236 extension is at $13.64. He stated that these are both good targets to aim for, but expects higher prices given the length of time XRP has been consolidating and building out its current structure.  Why XRP Is Ready To “Blast” Into Price Discovery Austin stated that on the macro scale, XRP appears ready to enter price discovery at any moment. He explained that the altcoin has experienced a 7-year contracting triangle accumulation structure followed by an explosive 5-wave breakout to test the all-time highs (ATHs) at Macro Wave 1.  Related Reading: Analyst Who Predicted XRP’s 600% Rally Forecasts The Bottom And A Target Of $10 The analyst further noted that XRP has been in an ABC correction/reaccumulation for over a year, which has resulted in mass fear and capitulation down to a .702 to .786 retrace. He assured that this has been nothing but a macro wave 2. Meanwhile, Austin also reminded investors that XRP is the only crypto asset with complete regulatory clarity in the U.S. following the settlement of the SEC lawsuit.  He added that Ripple has continued to silently build out the infrastructure required to foster global adoption when the time is right to “flip the switch.” Notably, the crypto firm recently unveiled its roadmap for institutional DeFi on the XRP Ledger (XRPL), highlighting XRP’s role at the core of this infrastructure as it rolls out compliance-focused features to attract institutions.  At the time of writing, the XRP price is trading at around $1.44, up in the last 24 hours, according to data from CoinMarketCap. Featured image from Adobe Stock, chart from Tradingview.com

The XRP Ledger has quietly crossed a critical milestone. What began as an experimental blockchain designed to challenge the inefficiencies of cross-border payments is now maturing into full-scale financial infrastructure. With the final constraints that once limited bank participation now removed, XRPL is no longer something institutions test; it’s something they can deploy. How XRPL Addressed Compliance And Operational Gaps Ripple has removed a key barrier that previously prevented banks from settling directly on the XRP Ledger, a change that could enable billions of inflows into the Ledger. Crypto analyst Diana has revealed that for years, a recurring question has surrounded Ripple’s network of over 300 bank partnerships: If adoption was so broad, why isn’t there massive on-chain volume on XRPL? Related Reading: Is XRP Poised To Replace SWIFT As Global Payments Infrastructure? As explained by Ripple Chief Technology Officer (CTO) and board member David Schwartz (JoelKatz), the reason was not technical performance; it was compliance and counterparty certainty. Institutions were unable to guarantee who was providing liquidity or whether counterparties met regulatory requirements when settling on-chain. That constraint is now being addressed. Permissioned Domains are live on XRPL, allowing institutions to operate within compliant, access-controlled environments while still benefiting from on-chain settlement.  However, a Permissioned DEX, which is scheduled to go live on February 18, will enable institution-only liquidity pools designed specifically for regulated participants. A big week is ahead for Ripple XRP, with more token utility anticipated. BSCN on the X platform reported that the week ahead could be an important one for the Ripple community, with new updates focused on expanding the real-world utility of XRP set to be introduced. RippleXDev has announced that the XRP community day will take place on February 11, featuring a series of live social media events. One of the key discussion points will be how upcoming roadmap features translate directly into XRP utility. RippleXDev indicated that the session will explore several foundational pillars designed to drive adoption, including programmability through smart extensions and contracts, zero-knowledge proofs (ZKPs) for privacy and stability, and compliance building blocks such as permissioned domains and the permissioned DEX. Why Extreme Conditions Often Precede Relief Rallies XRP price has entered the most oversold condition in its history. According to Skipper, analysts are stating that every time the altcoin reached comparable extremes, the price eventually reversed to the upside. Based on this historical pattern, XRP may be approaching a significant rebound, with a move back above the $2 level now back in focus. Related Reading: XRP Price Bearish Continuation Confirmed As Downside Pressure Builds At the same time, the evolution of the classic DEX is accelerating. DEX Pro would bring together the critical market data into a single, streamlined interface, bridging the gap between decentralized execution and professional-grade data analysis and giving traders the tools to make smarter, faster, and more informed decisions. Featured image from Freepik, chart from Tradingview.com

On Feb. 4, the XRP Ledger (XRPL) activated the highly anticipated Permissioned Domains with 91% validator approval. At first glance, the approval appears contradictory, as it involves a public blockchain hosting “permissioned” zones. However, a deeper look at the mechanics shows how the upgrade operates. Permissioned Domains introduces an on-ledger access-control object that enables other […]
The post Ripple prepares to dominate the $24 billion RWA market by integrating controversial new permissioned layer appeared first on CryptoSlate.

The idea of the XRP price reaching $100 is usually dismissed almost instantly based on arguments of market capitalization and circulating supply. On paper, that math suggests a $100 value would imply a market cap valuation of at least $6 trillion, which is a figure many see as unrealistic when compared to today’s crypto market.  Nonetheless, a few XRP enthusiasts are of the notion that such a framework does not apply to XRP. A crypto pundit on X, known as 24HRSCRYPTO, noted that treating XRP like a static store-of-value asset misses the entire point of what the cryptocurrency is designed to do. The Pundit’s Argument: XRP Moves Value, It Doesn’t Store It According to 24HRSCRYPTO, market cap math is misleading when it is used to judge an asset like XRP, which is designed for high-velocity settlement. 24HRSCRYPTO is an XRPL validator and fervent XRP supporter that’s always calling for ultra-bullish price targets for the cryptocurrency. Related Reading: Crypto Traders Share Odds Of XRP Price Rising 40% This Year, Can It Still Rally? In his words, market capitalization assumes an asset stores value, whereas a global liquidity asset moves value. XRP, from this perspective, is not meant to warehouse trillions of dollars but to facilitate the rapid movement of capital across systems, borders, and currencies. Based on this logic, if XRP is used to free trapped capital and settle transactions at scale, the same units of liquidity can be reused repeatedly within a short period of time with huge demand. Price, then, reflects the demand plus the level of trust placed in the system and the volume of economic weight it is clearing, not how much money is sitting still.  Under that framework, static market cap comparisons are a poor proxy for what XRP could be valued at in a fully deployed global settlement role. With this in mind, 24HRSCRYPTO noted that XRP at $100 isn’t delusional; it’s reality.  Why Market Cap Math Dominates The $100 Debate The skepticism around a $100 XRP price comes from straightforward math. At the time of writing, XRP is trading at $1.92 and is about 5,100% away from reaching $100. XRP currently has a circulating supply of 60.85 billion tokens, and multiplying that supply by $100 produces a $6 trillion market cap, which is larger than the current market cap of the entire crypto market.  Related Reading: XRP Funding Rates And Spot Volume Tell An Interesting Story For Price Market cap is treated as a hard ceiling based on this angle. The assumption is that for XRP to trade at $100, trillions of dollars would need to sit idle inside its market cap at the same time. That logic works reasonably well in theory for XRP. However, 24HRSCRYPTO is of the notion that the logic is for crypto assets like Bitcoin, whose primary function is holding value, and the assumption breaks down when applied to a liquidity-focused network asset.  However, this claim does not, in fact, guarantee that XRP can trade at $100 without the cumulative market cap of circulating tokens reflecting such an amount. Featured image from iStock, chart from Tradingview.com

XRP is increasingly being positioned as the core infrastructure for moving massive amounts of value across global financial networks. As trillions of dollars move daily across borders, platforms, and asset classes, the limitations of legacy systems are becoming impossible to ignore. Its core value lies in its ability to function as a neutral, high-speed bridge between disparate financial systems. Is XRP Becoming A Standard Layer For Value Transfer? XRP is building the rails for trillions, and the shift is already happening. Crypto analyst Xfinancebull reported a video on X where Ripple CEO Brad Garlinghouse revealed at Davos 2026 that the payment firm has been working directly with banks around the world to connect tokenization and DeFi through the XRP Ledger, thereby turning it into a bridge between traditional finance and on-chain markets. Related Reading: Japan’s XRP Integration Signals A Shift In Global Capital Flows The number alone shows how fast the tokenized asset is moving. In just one year, the volume has grown from $19 trillion to $33 trillion, which is a 75% increase. According to Xfinancebull, most people still have no idea how big this will get.  This is the shift; the rails are being laid right now, and XRP Ledger is one of the few networks that are ready to handle it. When institutional money starts moving at scale, it won’t care about the narratives or favorite altcoins. Instead, it will flow to where the infrastructure already exists, which is bullish for XRP. Why Respecting Channel Levels Signals A Healthy Market Structure The XRP market capitalization structure still looks constructive. An analyst known as Bird has highlighted that on the higher-time frame chart, XRP has been moving inside a clear descending accumulation channel for the past six months, and price has respected the top, mid-range, and bottom of that channel almost perfectly, which is exactly what should play out during a healthy accumulation phase. Related Reading: XRP Maintains Bullish Bias Above $1.30 Despite Recent Rejection Recently, the price pushed into the upper half of the channel, and then pulled back this week to retest the mid-range support. If this level continues to hold, the structure suggests that the altcoin is set up for another push higher, in Bird’s opinion. However, what makes this setup more interesting is how well it lines up with what’s happening across the broader market.  The Russel 2000 is sitting at all-time highs, metals are starting to look like they are topping, Bitcoin dominance is beginning to feel heavy, Brad Garlinghouse speaks at Davos today, and the recent wave of community riddles has dropped this week. Bird concluded that when multiple signals start lining up like this, it usually means the market is preparing for a larger move. From the chart perspective, Bird remains bullish on the XRP setup. Featured image from Peakpx, chart from Tradingview.com

Crypto pundit XRP Queen has described an XRP price target of $10 as being too low, claiming that this target was from a retail investor’s perspective. She also suggested how high the altcoin could go from an institutional standpoint.  Pundit Claims XRP Price Target Of $10 Is Too Low In an X post, XRP Queen stated that people predicting XRP price targets of between $10 and $25 are still thinking of retail price targets. This came as she claimed that Ripple has been thinking about global infrastructures. The pundit highlighted the firm’s moves, including its acquisition of payment and custody infrastructure.  Related Reading: XRP Price Could Surge Another 30% If This Trend Is Confirmed Furthermore, XRP Queen noted that Ripple has integrated with banks, funds, and institutions, which she claimed is positioning the altcoin for real-time global settlement. The pundit also believes that the crypto firm has secured regulatory clarity where it actually matters, which is bullish for the XRP price. Lastly, she mentioned that Ripple is actively pursuing a full banking license, having secured conditional approval from the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC).  XRP Queen declared that Ripple’s moves are how one builds financial plumbing. “Systems don’t move in pennies. They move in orders of magnitude. Lock in,” she added. Regarding how high the XRP price could rise based on institutional targets, XRP Queen suggested the altcoin could reach $100.  In an X post, she stated that people laugh at an XRP price target of $100 because they price it like a meme, but that institutions price the altcoin like infrastructure. As such, she believes the altcoin could reach these price targets based on its utility, especially as it gains traction as a token for real-time global settlement.  Canary Capital CEO Makes Bullish Case For XRP In a YouTube video, crypto pundit Cheeky Crypto highlighted a statement from Canary Capital’s CEO, Steven McClurg, in which he said that an XRP price target of between $5 and $10 may sound like a lot to a retail trader. However, he believes that these price targets are a rounding error when one considers the trillions of dollars in liquidity required to settle global real-world assets (RWAs) at scale.  Related Reading: XRP Wave C Push On The Way: What Could Send Price Below $2? Cheeky Crypto also highlighted McClurg’s statement, in which he said the XRP Ledger is already processing real financial transactions and boasts real-world financial use cases, which he claims are drawing institutions’ attention.  Notably, the Canary Capital CEO had recently predicted that XRP would dominate the RWA industry, which is projected to become a trillion-dollar industry at some point. This could boost the altcoin’s utility as the XRP Ledger processes more RWA transactions, sending the XRP price higher in the process.   At the time of writing, the XRP price is trading at around $1.95, down in the last 24 hours, according to data from CoinMarketCap. Featured image from Pixabay, chart from Tradingview.com

Recent reports indicate that XRP has reached an almost six-month high in daily transactions, marking a pivotal moment for the cryptocurrency as it exhibits increasing adoption across both payment systems and decentralized finance (DeFi) applications.  For January 2026 alone, the XRP Ledger recorded 1.45 million daily transactions, following a steady upward trend in network usage that began in late 2025, coinciding with the introduction of new payment corridors through Ripple’s On-Demand Liquidity platform and the integration of stablecoins such as RLUSD. Gaps Between XRP Demand And Price Market expert Sam Daodu highlighted in a recent report for 24/7 Wall St. that historical trends suggest that gaps between rising demand and stagnant prices often precede sharp rallies.  With exchange reserves at eight-year lows and increasing institutional inflows seen with XRP exchange-traded funds (ETFs), the current situation indicates that the altcoin may be quietly gearing up for its next breakout. Related Reading: XRP Will Skyrocket Beyond $18: Analyst Suggests 800% Growth Potential In 2026 Despite a slight rebound to $2.42 on January 6, which represented a nearly two-month high for the token, its price has since retraced to approximately $2.048 at the time of writing. This decline occurred despite the transaction surge, suggesting that XRP has yet to capitalize on its increased usage. Daodu noted that the discrepancy between XRP’s price and its on-chain activity isn’t unusual. He asserts that such gaps between usage and price have often been precursors to significant price movements, while also pointing out several factors contributing to the current delay in price reaction. Market-wide consolidation is one of the key reasons, as Bitcoin (BTC) and Ethereum (ETH) traded sideways in early 2026, dampening momentum for altcoins like XRP.  In addition, profit-taking pressure has emerged following XRP’s July 2025 rally up to $3.65. Many short-term holders have cashed out, creating strong resistance levels in the $2.20 to $2.50 range. Until new catalysts arise, Daodu claims XRP may remain confined to this range without breaking out. Is A Major Price Breakout Ahead? Looking forward, Daodu posits that XRP has a historical tendency to lag behind its on-chain progress before initiating explosive price moves. In both 2017 and 2020, spikes in transaction volume and wallet activity preceded significant rallies for the token’s price by several weeks. Related Reading: Bitcoin And Crypto ETFs Set To Attract $130 Billion-Plus Inflows This Year, JPMorgan Predicts For instance, in the third quarter of 2020, XRP’s daily transactions grew by over 40% in just two months, while the price remained flat at around $0.25, only to surge to over $0.70 within weeks in November.  A similar scenario unfolded in late 2017, where heightened usage metrics preceded a jump in XRP’s price from $0.30 to $3.30 by early January 2018. This suggests that the current surge in on-chain transactions could be a leading indicator of a delayed price breakout for XRP.  Featured image from DALL-E, chart from TradingView.com

The XRP Ledger (XRPL) has just experienced one of its biggest crashes this year, as on-chain data shows that activity on the Ripple blockchain has dropped by 99%. While this might look like a major red flag, the decline has yet to significantly impact the XRP price, suggesting that the situation may not be as alarming as it seems. Overview Of Ripple’s XRP Ledger 99% Crash Over the weekend, XRP Ledger transaction activity dropped sharply, falling by approximately 99% within 48 hours. On closer inspection, the decline appears primarily due to timing rather than any major technical issue in the ledger. Usually, cryptocurrency transaction volumes decline over weekends. This is because many institutional traders and market makers reduce their trading or stop entirely on weekends, leading to thinner liquidity and lower payment volumes on the ledger.  Related Reading: Ripple’s 100,000 Transactions: Why XRP Investors Are Returning Notably, on-chain data from XRPScans revealed that XRPL’s payment volume between accounts declined from over 1.09 billion on Thursday, January 8, to 166.99 million on Saturday. This represents a massive drop in network usage, showing just how much activity can decrease over a weekend. Payment volume is also yet to recover, falling further to around 137.40 million as of January 11.  In addition to volume decline, the number of transactions executed on the XRP Ledger during that time frame also reduced. XRPScans showed that transactions fell from over 2 million on Thursday to 1.8 million on Saturday. This decline in both volume and transfers shows that even small reductions in participation by large accounts or institutional users can significantly affect network metrics.  It’s worth noting that the XRP price is still trading above $2 and remains somewhat unaffected by the recent decline in network activity. Although CoinMarketCap data shows its value dropped by more than 4% over the past week, there’s no clear evidence linking this to the recent 99% decline in the ledger.  Interestingly, just days before the crash, the XRP Ledger recorded a major increase in whale transactions, each valued at $100,000 or more. This suggests that, despite temporary network fluctuations, the XRP network continues to experience substantial activity and engagement from major holders.   XRPL Developer Shares New Update For Ledger Vet, an XRPL dUNL validator and developer, has shared a new update on the XRP Ledger, revealing that a large batch of fixes and amendments is now nearing its activation timer. This marks a critical step for the blockchain network, promising to enhance functionality and security for developers and users.  Related Reading: XRP Retrace Is Only Temporary, What Happens Once the Uptrend Resumes Vet has stated that the upcoming changes cover several important features, including TokenEscrow, AMMClawback, Multi-Purpose Tokens (MPT), and Price Oracle. He emphasized that the XRP development team remains committed to maintaining the ledger at its highest performance. He added that the team is also working diligently to ensure all features operate smoothly, independent of XRP’s current market price. Featured image from Freepik, chart from Tradingview.com

A longtime XRP Ledger builder says XRPL has a narrow shot in 2026 to jump into the top tier of chains on liquidity and activity, but only if Ripple and the XRPL Foundation stop “playing it safe” and prioritize frictionless consumer onboarding, real-world payment rails, and a faster, more aggressive funding engine. Why 2026 Needs To Be The Year For XRP Panos Mekras, founder of Anodos Finance, wrote on X that the network’s current metrics are a warning sign: “only a few thousand active users,” daily DEX volume “frequently under $10m,” and AMM TVL “struggling below $50m” roughly two years after launch. The target, he argued, should be explicit: “move into the top 3 networks when it comes to volume, liquidity and overall activity.” Mekras said the liquidity gap is ultimately an infrastructure and distribution problem. XRPL remains “an isolated island,” he wrote, with limited bridges to other chains and “fragmented, high-fee gateways” instead of seamless on/offramps. His prescription is direct integration of mainstream rails: “native support for major rails like VISA and Mastercard directly within XRPL-based applications” so users can issue cards and spend XRPL assets in real time. Related Reading: Same XRP Setup That Led To Over 1,000% Increase In 2017 Is Playing Out Again He also framed stablecoin alignment as a competitive constraint: RLUSD reaching a $1 billion market cap in its first year is “positive,” he said, but “$1B is not good enough” against incumbents with $5 billion to $180 billion in circulation that have already become default onramps. He also argued XRPL lost its consumer narrative after Ripple’s 2014 pivot toward payments and B2B. That shift, in his telling, trained the market to associate XRP primarily with Ripple partnerships rather than the ledger itself, leaving many holders unaware of XRPL’s native DEX and token features. He pointed to a 2023 reply from Ripple CTO David “JoelKatz” Schwartz, who said the DEX ecosystem was strong at the time of the pivot, citing “over $8 million per day in swaps and payments” that Ripple “could 100% confirm” as real activity. For 2026, Mekras wants XRPL positioned less as “payments” and more as a protocol-layer finance stack where core features are built-in rather than stitched together through smart contracts, with “aggregated liquidity” and “one DEX to rule them all.” A key pillar is “XRPFi,” which he described as an effort to turn “the $100B+ of dormant XRP into productive, yield-generating capital” by pushing XRP liquidity into programmable environments. He cited Flare’s FXRP via FAssets as a route into smart contracts without “central custodians,” and highlighted Axelar & Midas’ mXRP as an “institutional-grade liquid staking token” he said could enable “5–10% APY,” creating liquid XRP variants that can be used as collateral and AMM liquidity. Related Reading: XRP Rally Reopens The $8–$12 Zone Debate, Says Will Taylor The consumer strategy, he argued, should be “invisible infrastructure”: utility apps where users never see crypto mechanics. “If a user is ever prompted to ‘Add a Trust Line’ or ‘Have enough XRP for the reserves’ we have already failed,” he wrote. “The interface must be indistinguishable from the modern mobile apps people already trust.” To enable that, he called Sponsored Fees and Reserves (XLS-68) the top technical priority so developers can sponsor account reserves and fees, paired with Batch Transactions to compress multi-step actions into “one single, atomic signature.” Mekras’ sharpest criticism was aimed at grants. He called Ripple’s 2022 commitment of 1 billion XRP to fund XRPL development a “Ghost Fund,” estimating less than $50 million, under 5% has reached active builders in four years. “A grant program that takes 3 months to approve $50,000 and can take another 3 months to receive the money is not a growth engine, it is a bureaucracy,” he wrote, arguing XRPL needs million-dollar checks for proven teams, direct liquidity incentives, and a unified developer experience. His conclusion was a call for a “war chest mentality” in 2026: fund distribution and liquidity, fix onboarding friction, and build consumer products where XRPL is simply the backend. Without that, he warned, the ecosystem risks remaining a technically capable network that still cannot attract sustained users, builders, or capital at scale. At press time, XRP traded at $2.10. Featured image created with DALL.E, chart from TradingView.com

A prominent crypto commentator known as Mason Versluis has issued a notable warning for XRP investors, pointing out that parts of the discussion around XRP to lofty price targets as high as $10,000 have drifted far away from reality and risk misleading investors. Pundit Pushes Back Against $10,000 XRP Predictions Bullish price predictions around XRP have been arriving at an unusually fast pace in recent months, especially as spot exchange-traded funds and institutional participation are now a major part of investor conversations.  Related Reading: The Great XRP Exodus: Here’s How Much Is Left On Crypto Exchanges Social media platforms are now filled with increasingly high targets, ranging from triple-digit valuations to extreme calls for four-figure and even five-figure prices at $10,000. Just a few years ago, you would not have believed such XRP price predictions would be as rampant as this. In a recent video clip circulating across the crypto community, Mason Versluis delivered an unusually blunt assessment of the $10,000 predictions for the altcoin. He dismissed the figure outright, noting that such price targets should not even be part of current conversations.  According to Versluis, anyone aggressively promoting those numbers is doing investors a disservice and misleading them. His argument is based on the fact that XRP has yet to demonstrate the ability to break above far lower price levels, making five-digit projections detached from present conditions.  A closer look at XRP’s circulating supply explains why the $10,000 prediction raises doubts. XRP currently has a circulating supply of about 66 billion tokens with a market cap of $141.9 billion. Therefore, calculations based on the current circulating supply would imply a market cap of roughly $660 trillion if the altcoin reaches $10,000, which is far greater than the current top 100 assets by market cap combined.  To put this in context, gold currently has a market cap of about $31 trillion. The most realistic way that the token might reach $10,000 is for the circulating supply to decrease significantly. Bullish Bias Exists, But Built Around Progression According to Versias, XRP reaching $10,000 is not outright impossible. However, the world has only seen roughly 2% of the changes that would be required for XRP to approach a $10,000 valuation.  Related Reading: Here’s How Much The XRP Price Will Be If It Overtakes Ethereum In Market Cap XRP has not even reached $10, let alone maintained it. In order for any outstanding price levels to become a reality, XRP would first need to break above double digits $10, and hold above. From here, discussions about $50, $100, or higher only become meaningful after XRP proves strength at each preceding level. Despite the criticism, Versluis made it clear that his outlook on XRP is not bearish. He acknowledged that his stance has grown increasingly optimistic due to developments such as ETF momentum, DeFi activity, and institutional engagement surrounding XRP and the XRP ledger, continuing to improve. Featured image from Adobe Stock, chart from Tradingview.com

In a development that could accelerate the evolution of cross-border financial infrastructure, JPMorgan’s GTreasury initiative on the XRP Ledger signals a potential turning point for global payments. JPMorgan’s move challenges long-standing assumptions about the role of banks in digital asset settlement and the increasing legitimacy of the XRP Ledger as a foundation for real-world transaction flows. What JP Morgan has done with GTreasury using the XRP Ledger will change payments forever. Crypto analyst Xfinancebull has revealed on X that when JPMorgan moves, it’s never for show. This was a direct integration into Ripple’s stack, allowing the Ledger to transition from Crypto Rails into the real-world plumbing for global banking. What This Means For XRP And The Broader Digital Asset Market This isn’t about transaction volume; it’s about signal, and the GTreasury system migrates only when the infrastructure is proven safe, fast, and scalable. Ripple didn’t chase relevance; it built infrastructure before the banks arrived. This integration reframes the altcoin to become a foundational layer, not a speculative asset reacting to market sentiment. Related Reading: How XRP’s Utility Will Drive Price Appreciation In The New Year The fundamentals of the XRP Ledger continue to grow massively without noise. An analyst known as Vet highlighted that while other ecosystems are struggling to fix their consensus and unique native approach for a multi-currency ledger, XRPL remains the best-in-class. The network continues to attract high-quality validators and deeply technical community members more than ever before. Education and accessibility have also reached a level where Tap has been well-designed for individuals with the apps and the XRPL.org site. On the protocol side, security has been taken to the next level with formal specifications and formal verification, which is bleeding-edge technology in crypto already used in military and aerospace systems. The payment engine is already specified, and the compliance features with DID, Credentials, and upcoming permissioned domains/DEX functionality are enabling Ripple payments to operate directly on XRPL DEX infrastructure. In addition, Evernorth $1 billion involvement in XRP is aimed at generating yield. Meanwhile, XRP ETFs continue to grow, with issuers reporting high long-term conviction among their investors in the altcoin. Even a quantum-proof encrypted XRPL test net already exists. This is a grind that involves patience, but the trajectory is upward, which has been up.  How The XRPL Fits Institutional Portfolio Architecture According to the XRP Update on X (formerly Twitter), Franklin Templeton, a $1.53 trillion global asset manager, has publicly identified the XRP Ledger and XRP as a foundational building block for digital asset portfolios. Related Reading: $1.6 Trillion Asset Manager Goes Deep Into XRP, Shares Reason Behind The Move This move reinforces the altcoin’s role in institutional-grade infrastructure, making it highly scalable, liquid, and built for real-world financial use cases. Featured image from Getty Images, chart from Tradingview.com

Comments from Galaxy Digital’s leadership have looked into what ultimately sustains value in the crypto market. In a recent YouTube discussion centered on 2026 expectations for Bitcoin, crypto, and artificial intelligence, Galaxy Digital CEO Mike Novogratz and Head of Research Alex Thorn singled out XRP and Cardano, questioning whether even the strongest communities can survive if real usage fails to expand when users have a vast number of alternatives to choose from. Galaxy Digital Leadership Raises Questions About Community Versus Utility During the YouTube discussion, Mike Novogratz presented the utility debate through the lens of capital allocation. He explained that the real question is what an investor chooses when presented with many viable options. If capital can flow into something like SpaceX, then crypto assets must compete on similar grounds. Related Reading: Charles Hoskinson Reveals What XRP And Cardano Are Already Doing 100x Better He acknowledged that XRP and Cardano both have deeply committed communities, but questioned whether that loyalty can be sustained if users do not see any real utility with those ecosystems. “Can Ripple hold it together? Can Cardano hold it together?” Novogratz said. In drawing comparisons, Novogratz referenced Charles Hoskinson, noting his success in maintaining Cardano’s community over time despite it being a “blockchain that people don’t really use a lot.” He made similar observations about XRP’s following, which has a strong community. However, he posed a direct question about sustainability: “Can you keep it together when there are more and more options?” Recent crypto market dynamics have caused capital flows to become more selective. Developers and teams behind blockchain ecosystems all know this, and this is why there has been a race to demonstrate usage, revenue models, or clear value flows tied directly to their tokens. According to Novogratz, that doesn’t happen overnight. It’s probably a year-long process, not a one to three-month process. Cardano And XRP Proving Real-World Relevance The questions raised during the Galaxy Digital discussion arrive at a time when both Cardano and XRP are actively trying to strengthen their utility narratives. Recent events have seen Cardano attempting to reinforce its practical relevance through initiatives like the Midnight sidechain. Midnight is a privacy-focused Cardano sidechain network designed to support confidential smart contracts and selective data disclosure.  Related Reading: Flare Launches New Way For XRP Investors To Earn Midnight is intended as a way to attract enterprise and institutional use cases that require compliance-friendly privacy, an area where public blockchains have traditionally struggled. XRP, on the other hand, is taking a different path through Ripple’s hard work to increase the utility of the XRP Ledger. Ripple has been expanding utility around Ripple USD (RLUSD), its US dollar-backed stablecoin, including broader deployment across multiple Layer-2 networks.  Ripple has also been on a partnership spree this year in moves to strengthen the utility of the XRP ecosystem, with about $4 billion spent on major acquisitions in 2025. The company also recently partnered with Doppler Finance to explore collaboration in XRP-based yield infrastructure and real-world asset (RWA) tokenization on the XRP Ledger, which is another added utility. Featured image from Pxfuel, chart from Tradingview.com

XRP’s open interest has reportedly crashed to lows not seen since last year, when the altcoin surged by around 600%. On-chain analytics platform CryptoQuant noted that this development could be bullish for XRP as it looks to rebound to new highs.  XRP’s Open Interest Drops To Lowest Level Since 2024 In a blog post, CryptoQuant analyst Arab Chain revealed that XRP’s open interest on Binance has fallen to its lowest level since 2024. The analyst noted that analysis of XRP Ledger data on the crypto exchange shows a clear rebalancing in the derivatives market, with open interest falling to almost $453 million, the lowest level since the end of last year.  Related Reading: Why You Should Pay Attention To XRP’s Exchange Netflows This Month Arab Chain noted that this development reflects a fundamental shift in trader behavior and confirms a significant decrease in leverage usage compared to previous periods. Notably, the XRP price looks to have been fueled by leverage in the early parts of this year. The analyst noted that open interest in XRP futures contracts exceeded $1 billion on several occasions, which coincided with strong price surges.  The XRP open interest also rose again in mid-2025 to levels similar to those recorded in the early months of the year, sparking significant volatility for XRP. However, Arab Chain noted that the current landscape is “markedly different.” Open interest has declined gradually and then sharply, indicating a significant exit by short-term speculators.  Meanwhile, the analyst explained that the decrease in XRP open interest carries dual implications. The first is that the decline in risk appetite and weakening momentum in the derivatives market explain the volatile price behavior in the absence of strong, liquidity-driven breakouts.  The second is that the contraction represents a healthy structural development, as it reduces the risk of forced liquidations and mitigates the abnormal pressures associated with excessive leverage. Arab Chain noted that periods of low open interest often represent transitional phases, during which the market shifts froma highly speculative environment to a calmer one that relies heavily on genuine spot demand.  XRP May Be Preparing For Another Significant Rally Crypto analysts have suggested that XRP may be preparing for another significant rally, although it remains to be seen if it could rally 600% like last year. In an X post, crypto analyst Niels stated that the altcoin is forming a higher low around this level. He noted that this is a similar structure that happened in April this year, before a new all-time high (ATH). The analyst added that a push above $2 could put the bulls in control.  Related Reading: XRP Stochastic RSI Just Touched 0.0 For The Second Time In History Crypto analyst Chart Nerd predicted that XRP could reach a new ATH on its next leg to the upside. This came as he noted that the altcoin was in the middle of an ABC reset. His accompanying chart showed that XRP could reach as high as $4.5 on this impulsive move to the upside, which is expected to happen in the first half of next year.  At the time of writing, the XRP price is trading at around $1.84, down in the last 24 hours, according to data from CoinMarketCap. Featured image from Getty Images, chart from Tradingview.com