Track market-moving stories before they get noisy

In big XRP news today, Ripple has officially released a major upgrade to the XRP Ledger (XRPL). The upgrade introduces six key amendments that focus on strengthening privacy, settlement efficiency, operational controls, and asset management.

It comes as part of Ripple’s latest roadmap, placing tokenized real-world assets (RWAs) at the center of its institutional strategy.

XRP Ledger v3.3.0 Upgrade to Boost Ripple’s Position RWA Tokenization Ripple and XRP Ledger Operations announced xrpld v3.3.0 upgrade, the reference server software that powers the decentralized XRP Ledger (XRPL) network. It marks a major milestone for the XRPL network, positioning the blockchain for greater institutional RWA tokenization use cases.

The upgrade introduces major amendments, along with bug fixes and build improvements. As CoinGape reported earlier, RippleX’s head of product Jazzi Cooper confirmed global tokenized asset transfers, trading, collateralization, and settlement support in the upgrade.

Vijay Khanna, Director of Engineering at Ripple, said “This is a big update for the XRPL!” He revealed that the XRP Ledger upgrade had been in the works for a long time and had undergone multiple rounds of testing, an attackathon, AI scans, and other requirements.

Node operators are urged to upgrade to the new version immediately to ensure service continuity. It will require at least 80% validator support over two weeks to activate the XRPL mainnet to the latest v3.3.0 release.

XRP Ledger Upgrade Details XRP Ledger Operations revealed six amendments in the 3.3.0 upgrade are available for voting. The amendments are Confidential Transfer, BatchV1_1, DynamicMPT, PermissionDelegationV1_1, Sponsor, and fixCleanup3_3_0.

These will enable encrypted multi-purpose token (MPT) balances and transfers, atomic execution of up to 8 transactions, entity-sponsored fees and reserves, delegation of specific transaction permissions to other accounts, and issuer mutable MPT properties.

The XRP Ledger upgrade also includes a bundle of bug fixes (fixCleanup3_3_0), performance and stability improvements. The upgrade will further reduce memory usage by 10-15% after XRPL upgrade 3.2.0.

J. Ayo Akinyele, head of engineering at RippleX, claimed the upgrade “if approved, would continue expanding the XRPL’s capabilities for tokenized assets and real-world financial use cases.”

XRP Ledger Foundation contributor Vet noted XRPL 3.3.0 as “big,” featuring the world’s first XRPL privacy amendment, trustless swaps, OTC trading for institutions, and monetization of the App.

Mayukha Vadari, staff software engineer at Ripple, revealed other changes in the upgrade. These include improved online delete performance, 60 fixes for bugs uncovered by the AI red team effort, and optimizations to make xrpld easier to maintain.

A lot of folks will be talking about the amendments in this release (including me later), but I want to take a moment to discuss the non-feature-amendment changes in this release:
– 15+% reduction in memory usage
– Improved online_delete performance
– 60 fixes for bugs uncovered… https://t.co/BAzNynqngj

— Mayukha Vadari (@msvadari) August 6, 2026

Will XRP Price Rebound amid Buying in Derivatives Market? XRP price has dropped more than 2% in the past 24 hours as the Senate delayed Clarity Act vote until September. Ripple’s coin price is currently trading at $1.02, with a 24-hour range of $1.02 to $1.05. Trading volume increased by another 17% in the last 24 hours.

However, CoinGlass data shows significant buying activity in the derivatives market in the last few hours. The total XRP futures open interest jumped more than 0.67% within an hour and 1.02% in 24 hours to $2.35 billion.

Notably, Binance, OKX, Bybit, Gate and other crypto exchanges saw massive buying in the past hour. XRP futures open interest climbed 0.61% on Binance and 2% on OKX.

XRP Futures Open Interest. Source: CoinGlass Meanwhile, crypto analysts remained bearish on XRP price targeting $0.90, despite Grayscale’s GDLC ETF increasing XRP weight in the fund and growing institutional interest in XRP.

Traders looking to leverage this momentum can compare features on the best crypto derivative futures trading platforms to find competitive funding rates and deep liquidity.

XRP has entered a new accumulation phase, according to on-chain data that shows significant shifts in exchange flows on major trading platforms. Recent analysis suggests that withdrawal volumes from exchanges now exceed deposits, a development that has historically aligned with previous XRP price rallies.

Shifting exchange flows signal accumulationMarket analyst Xaif Crypto reported that exchange wallet balances for XRP have turned negative, indicating net outflows from platforms such as Coinbase and Bybit. This reversal marks a departure from previous periods when inflows surpassed withdrawals. Observers note that similar patterns appeared before major rallies in May and June.

According to CoinCodex, XRP is currently trading in a narrow range between $1.05 and $1.07, with the latest listing at $1.05. While price action remains subdued, analysts highlight that sustained outflows could indicate growing investor confidence as holders transfer assets from exchanges into private wallets or long-term storage, thereby reducing the token’s liquid supply.

Market analyst Xaif Crypto identified that “the current exchange flow setup for XRP closely mirrors the structure in place before the May and June advances, when steady outflows preceded renewed buying momentum.”

Large exchange inflows often signal that investors are preparing to sell, increasing supply and potential selling pressure. In contrast, persistent outflows may point to accumulating positions or a shift to long-term custody as participants seek to avoid short-term trading.

ExchangePrevious trendCurrent trendCoinbaseNet inflowsNet outflowsBybitNet inflowsNet outflowsExtended price stability and network growthXRP has demonstrated notable price resilience, maintaining a position above $1 for 627 straight days—longer than any previous period in its history. This sustained level, analysts say, reinforces market confidence and supports the narrative of an underlying supply crunch.

In addition to exchange flows, XRPL activity accelerated recently, processing almost 2 million transactions in a single day, which many consider a sign of robust network engagement and adoption.

The XRP Ledger, an open-source public blockchain designed for fast cross-border payments, processed approximately 1.98 million transactions over the past 24 hours. Elevated transaction volumes suggest that utility and network usage remain strong, even as the token consolidates in a narrow price range.

Mini dictionary: XRP Ledger (XRPL), a decentralized blockchain network that enables real-time, low-cost international settlements and asset transfers.

Institutional perspective on long-term valueSagar Shah, Chief Business Officer at Evernorth, stated that XRP’s value proposition reaches beyond short-term price volatility. He pointed to its primary role in facilitating efficient, low-fee, cross-border transactions and supporting infrastructure for financial institutions worldwide.

Shah emphasized that adoption and utility remain significant drivers of the token’s long-term value, as consistent network performance and institutional use cases could create a more stable environment for future growth.

While it remains uncertain whether current exchange outflows will result in another breakout, many market participants see XRPL network expansion, dwindling liquid supply, and persistent price stability as constructive signs for $XRP’s future performance.

Disclaimer: The information contained in this article does not constitute investment advice. Investors should be aware that cryptocurrencies carry high volatility and therefore risk, and should conduct their own research.

XRP Joins Crypto.com's Dual Invest Lineup@Cryptocom has expanded its Dual Invest product suite to include $XRP, opening up structured yield opportunities on the token for both retail and institutional users. The addition allows participants to target triple-digit reward rates on XRP, a rate level that Crypto.com has advertised across its Dual Invest platform since the product launched in February 2025.

Dual Invest is a structured earn feature that lets users lock in a fixed reward rate by setting a target price and term for a chosen asset. The product lets users earn rewards in one of two digital assets, depending on how the market moves. The reward rate is presented to users upfront, before they enter into a plan. At settlement, the payout is issued in either the deposited token or an alternate token, depending on whether the target price is reached.

Three primary strategies are available: "Buy Low" for purchasing assets at a target price lower than current, "Sell High" for selling at a target price higher than current, or hold and earn rewards. The structure gives users a degree of flexibility across different market conditions, which Crypto.com positions as a hedge against volatility.

XRP Added Alongside $BTC, $ETH, and $SOLWith the XRP inclusion, Dual Invest now covers a broader set of major assets. $BTC, $ETH, and $SOL were already available on the platform before this latest expansion. An Auto-Renew feature is also available, which automatically places a new order with the same target price and deposit amount if a user's target price is not reached at expiry. This allows users to maintain exposure without needing to manually re-enter positions.

The timing of the addition is notable given the growing institutional profile of XRP. The SEC dropped its case against Ripple in 2025, and seven spot XRP ETFs are live in the US with over $1.2 billion in assets under management. That regulatory clarity has helped bring more structured products to market around the asset.

As with any structured yield product, risks remain. Market risk means the value of tokens may fluctuate based on market conditions. If a target price is reached and the deposit token is automatically converted, but the deposit token's price continues to move in the same direction, users could miss out on potential gains. Dual Invest is available in select jurisdictions.

Sources:
Crypto.com: Dual Invest Product Launch
Crypto.com Help Center: Dual Invest
Crypto.com University: What Is Dual Invest

A convincing clone of Ripple's official website is circulating online, designed to drain the wallets of long-term $XRP holders. The fraudulent page replicates Ripple's branding, color scheme, and typography in close detail, and uses a loyalty angle to lower victims' guard, promising a reward for HODLers who never sold their tokens.

How the Scam Works The fake site presents a "Get Early Access" button aimed at committed XRP holders. Clicking it triggers a crypto drainer, a malicious script that, once a wallet is connected, executes an outbound transaction before the user realizes what has happened. Users are directed to a fraudulent site where connecting a non-custodial wallet triggers a malicious script that executes a single authorized transaction to empty holdings. The authorization step is the trap: once signed, the transaction is irreversible on-chain.

XRP Ledger chief architect David Schwartz (@JoelKatz) called out the site publicly on X, posting a blunt warning: "IT'S A SCAM!" Ripple does not run free XRP giveaways, and posts claiming otherwise on behalf of the company or its executives should be treated as scams. Ripple will never ask you to send XRP.

Part of a Broader Scam Wave Targeting XRP Holders The fake Ripple site is not an isolated incident. Scammers have deployed sophisticated phishing campaigns that bypass email authentication checks, while over 50 fake Ripple executive accounts were reported on Instagram and Telegram in Q1 2026. Fresh security warnings have targeted XRP users amid an ongoing scam wave, with fake sites cloning Flare Network, XORA, and other XRP-adjacent brands.

Blockchain analytics firm Chainalysis estimates that as much as $17 billion was stolen globally through crypto scams in 2025, the highest level ever recorded. Impersonation scams posted 1,400% year-over-year growth, driven in large part by AI tools that make fraudulent content faster to produce and harder to detect.

Schwartz's verified presence remains limited to his @JoelKatz handle on X. Fake Schwartz accounts have appeared on Telegram, Instagram, and other platforms. Holders are urged to verify all announcements through official channels, avoid clicking unsolicited links, and never connect a wallet to a site promoted through social media posts or direct messages.

Sources:
Ripple: How to Identify Crypto Scams
CryptoNews: Ripple CTO David Schwartz Warned of AI-Cloned Executives
CoinDesk: Chainalysis Report on AI and Impersonation Scams

Ripple has obtained a Crypto-Asset Service Provider (CASP) license from Luxembourg’s financial regulator, the CSSF, under Europe’s MiCA legislation, enabling the company to offer regulated crypto payment services across all 30 countries in the European Economic Area (EEA).

MiCA license enables single-market accessWith this new authorization, Ripple can operate throughout the EEA using a unified compliance framework. This simplifies the process for banks, payment providers, and enterprises wishing to engage with Ripple Payments, as they no longer need to deal with fragmented national regulatory systems. The company’s existing Electronic Money Institution (EMI) license complements this expansion, reinforcing its position within the regulated European crypto landscape.

Ripple has emphasized that regulatory clarity is essential for building institutional trust and advancing crypto adoption. The company stated that clear regulations provide a crucial foundation for collaboration with traditional financial institutions.

Growing adoption of digital assets in EuropeThe rapid shift toward blockchain integration in Europe has positioned the region as a frontrunner in digital asset adoption. Financial institutions are increasingly leveraging blockchain technology not just experimentally, but within core payment and treasury operations.

A recent Global Digital Asset Survey from Ripple highlighted that 72% of European fintech firms consider digital assets vital for maintaining competitiveness, and nearly half anticipate that stablecoin payments will become a fundamental part of their business models within the next two years.

According to the survey, 34% of European fintech organizations are increasing their use of digital assets for treasury management and payments—exceeding the global average—while 44% expect stablecoins to be the default for cross-border payments in five years and 65% believe stablecoins could enhance treasury operations by improving cash flow and working capital.

Regulatory clarity drives institutional partnershipDespite a surge in interest among financial firms, regulatory uncertainty was identified as a significant obstacle, with approximately 40% of European fintechs citing it as a reason for delayed adoption. The introduction of the MiCA framework provides unified rules and has the potential to accelerate institutional adoption by reducing legal ambiguity.

Ripple already has an established footprint within the European financial sector. In Spain, BBVA has formed a partnership with Ripple for digital asset custody services. Meanwhile, Germany’s DZ BANK, a major depository institution managing €350 billion in assets, adopted Ripple-powered technology for its institutional digital asset custody infrastructure.

These partnerships illustrate Ripple’s growing presence in payments, custody, and Europe’s evolving digital financial infrastructure. The company’s payments network currently spans over 60 markets, connects with 51 real-time payment rails, works alongside more than 20 banking partners, and has processed more than $100 billion in payment volume.

Global stablecoin transaction volumes surpassed $33 trillion in 2025, outpacing credit card transactions and reflecting the rising mainstream use of blockchain-based settlement models.

Expanding access through innovationTechnological advancements continue to play a critical role. Platforms such as 1stepSwap are closing the gap between conventional finance and crypto by allowing users to transfer real-world assets, including shares from leading US companies and commodities like gold and silver, directly onto the blockchain. Without complicated processes or intermediaries, investors can access a diversified portfolio and, thanks to cutting-edge algorithms, execute trades at the most competitive market rates.

With the MiCA regulation now implemented and early authorization secured, Ripple views regulatory compliance as a strategic benefit. The company aims to support banks, fintechs, and enterprises in expanding compliant digital asset payments across Europe as institutional adoption accelerates.

Ripple’s strategic moves signal its intention to become a key infrastructure provider for Europe’s next wave of digital finance, offering regulated solutions for payments, custody, and institutional asset management in line with evolving regulatory demands.

Disclaimer: The information contained in this article does not constitute investment advice. Investors should be aware that cryptocurrencies carry high volatility and therefore risk, and should conduct their own research.

Senator John Kennedy has called for the U.S. Senate to take action on the CLARITY Act before Congress leaves for its August recess, raising hopes for long-awaited regulatory certainty around digital assets. Kennedy, speaking directly on the Senate floor, emphasized that lawmakers have spent years working on cryptocurrency legislation and that it is time for Congress to act.

Push for crypto legislation gains momentumKennedy urged colleagues to move forward, underscoring the importance of wrapping up legislative work on digital assets. His remarks reflect growing urgency in Washington to establish a comprehensive regulatory system that would offer guidance for companies operating in the cryptocurrency market.

The CLARITY Act has been crafted to define the regulatory boundaries for cryptocurrencies in the United States. The bill seeks to explicitly delineate when a digital asset should be regarded as a security and when it qualifies as a commodity, addressing longstanding ambiguity that has affected the industry.

For Ripple’s XRP, this distinction is critical. Regulatory uncertainty has persisted since the SEC initiated legal action against Ripple, prompting many U.S. financial institutions and service providers to take a cautious approach toward the token. While Ripple continued its international expansion, hesitation among U.S. banks and investors remained due to unclear legal guidance.

Ripple has positioned itself as a leader in enterprise blockchain solutions and cross-border payments for regulated financial institutions, making legal certainty an essential factor for broader adoption in the United States.

Market analysts suggest that a unified regulatory policy could boost institutional participation, enabling banks, asset managers, public companies, and pension funds to allocate capital to the crypto sector with greater confidence.

Potential boost for Ripple and wider industryThe CLARITY Act, if passed, could accelerate institutional investment, expand digital asset custody options, and encourage more exchanges to list XRP and similar assets. A predictable regulatory environment is often seen as a catalyst for wider industry adoption and innovation across the blockchain sector.

Ripple has proactively broadened its global payment network, launched the RLUSD stablecoin, and advanced initiatives on the XRP Ledger involving tokenization and real-world assets. These steps have been complemented by securing regulatory approvals in major international markets. As a result, Ripple is positioned to leverage its foundation once a comprehensive U.S. framework is enacted.

Beyond Ripple, many blockchain startups have shifted operations abroad, seeking jurisdictions where crypto policies are more clearly defined. Enacting the CLARITY Act could encourage developers, exchanges, and institutional providers to invest domestically, strengthening the U.S. presence in the digital asset economy.

Kennedy’s push for an immediate vote highlights growing bipartisan support for cryptocurrency legislation, as more lawmakers argue against relying predominantly on enforcement actions and seek to implement practical, industry-wide rules.

Outlook for institutional adoption and real-world innovationMarket confidence often improves with reduced legal uncertainty. For XRP, whose price action has frequently tracked developments in U.S. regulatory policy, advancement of the CLARITY Act could lift one of the major hurdles facing investor sentiment and institutional allocation.

The XRP community, along with much of the U.S. cryptocurrency sector, is closely watching the legislative process. Supporters argue that the CLARITY Act does not offer special benefits to XRP but provides regulatory foundations needed for the entire industry’s development.

Many believe that Congressional approval of the bill before the August recess would signal a decisive step forward in America’s approach to digital assets, possibly paving the way for increased institutional involvement and renewed U.S. leadership in the global crypto market.

As industry participants monitor technical developments related to regulatory clarity and evolving market structure, interest is also growing in accessible investment options. In this context, 1stepSwap has emerged as a practical platform enabling users to bring real-world assets directly onto the blockchain. The platform provides access to shares of major U.S. companies and commodities such as gold and silver, allowing direct wallet transactions without intermediaries. By consistently offering the best available prices and rapid execution, 1stepSwap aims to simplify diversification and strengthen ties between traditional and digital finance.

Disclaimer: The information contained in this article does not constitute investment advice. Investors should be aware that cryptocurrencies carry high volatility and therefore risk, and should conduct their own research.

XRP extended its decline on Aug. 5, 2026, trading near $1.07 as buyers struggled to move the token away from its lower range.

Summary

XRP trades near $1.07 as weak momentum keeps the token pinned above crucial technical support. CoinGlass data shows open interest near $2.25 billion after leveraged positions continued unwinding across exchanges. CryptoQuant sees balanced liquidations and neutral funding, suggesting positioning reset rather than forced capitulation currently. U.S. spot XRP ETFs reportedly logged four consecutive inflow days despite the token’s weak price. A sustained break below $1.05 could expose $1.00, while $1.10 remains the first recovery hurdle. crypto.news data showed XRP down about 0.9% over 24 hours, with trading volume near $911.7 million and market capitalization around $66.7 billion. XRP remained the sixth largest cryptocurrency.

The decline left XRP close to the $1.05 to $1.06 area that has repeatedly attracted buyers since late June. However, momentum indicators, spot flows and derivatives positioning offer little evidence of a confirmed recovery.

The current setup is not a typical liquidation collapse. Leverage has declined, funding remains close to neutral and liquidations have been relatively balanced. These conditions may reduce the risk of an immediate forced selloff, but they also show that traders have limited conviction in a rebound.

XRP price remains trapped near its lower range The supplied XRP/USDT daily chart shows a broad decline from above $2.50 to around $1.0676. Recent candles have formed a narrow consolidation close to the bottom of that move. XRP has not established a sustained recovery above $1.10, leaving the short term structure weak.

The relative strength index stood at 43.71, below both the neutral 50 level and its moving average of 44.87. The reading shows that buying momentum remains limited, although XRP has not entered deeply oversold territory on the daily chart.

XRP price chart, source: crypto.news MACD also remains mildly bearish. The MACD line was near negative 0.0110, below the signal line around negative 0.0101. The histogram remained slightly negative at about negative 0.0009. The small difference between the lines points to weak downside momentum rather than a sharp acceleration.

The immediate technical test sits between $1.05 and $1.06. A daily close below that range could expose the psychological $1 level and the late June lows around $1.01. XRP briefly broke the $1.05 area on July 28 before buyers returned. The earlier decline also pushed the four hour RSI into oversold territory, but that reading did not create a lasting reversal.

A recovery above $1.10 would provide the first evidence that buyers are regaining control. XRP would then need to clear the $1.13 to $1.15 region, which has repeatedly limited advances since June.

Analyst Ali Charts described $1.06 as the deciding level. His upside estimates of “$1.35 and $1.64” depend on XRP holding support and confirming a recovery. His downside levels of “$0.80 and potentially $0.62” require a clear breakdown. Neither path has been confirmed.

Other social media forecasts calling for “$23” or “$50+” are highly speculative. Those targets sit far above the current price and are not supported by present momentum, verified institutional forecasts or an established breakout structure.

Lower leverage points to a quiet positioning reset CoinGlass data showed XRP futures volume near $1.35 billion and total derivatives open interest around $2.25 billion at the time of reporting. The price on the platform stood near $1.067. The supplied data snapshot showed volume falling 10.27% and open interest declining 5.59% over 24 hours.

Falling price and falling open interest usually mean traders are closing positions rather than adding aggressive new shorts. This can reduce the fuel available for large liquidation driven moves. It does not, however, establish that spot buyers are ready to take control.

A separate CryptoQuant analysis found that its XRP open interest measure had fallen into a six month range low between 362 million and 369 million. The estimated leverage ratio also declined toward 0.139 to 0.142, close to the lowest reading during the same period.

CryptoQuant contributor CryptoOnchain also noted that funding remained between roughly negative 0.009 and positive 0.010 during the latest decline. Long and short liquidations alternated rather than producing a one sided cascade. The analyst interpreted the structure as a positioning reset rather than forced capitulation.

Network valuation also compressed faster than reported transaction activity. CryptoOnchain said the network value to transactions ratio fell 42.7% compared with its three month average, while transaction count declined 23.3%. This may indicate that market valuation weakened faster than ledger usage, but it does not provide a reliable timing signal for a price reversal.

The supplied CoinGlass spot flow chart recorded a net outflow of about $2.15 million on Aug. 5. Recent negative readings have been smaller than the large outflow spikes recorded in late 2025. Selling pressure appears less intense, but sustained positive flow would offer stronger evidence that demand is improving.

XRP Spot Inflow/Outflow, source: CoinGlass U.S. XRP demand has not produced a breakout U.S. spot XRP exchange traded funds have continued attracting capital despite weak price performance. Recent flow data reportedly showed four consecutive inflow sessions totaling about $15.4 million. 

XRP nevertheless remained near $1.08 during that period, showing that the purchases were not large enough to overcome selling elsewhere in the market.

As crypto.news reported in an earlier analysis, five U.S. spot XRP funds launched between November and December 2025 and had attracted roughly $1.5 billion by mid 2026. The funds created a new regulated source of demand, but XRP remained confined to a range around $1.00 to $1.13.

This divergence suggests that ETF inflows alone have not been enough to change the wider trend. Fund purchases must compete with token sales, exchange activity, derivatives hedging and weaker demand across offshore spot markets.

Regulated derivatives activity provides another U.S. market signal. CME Group data showed activity across its standard XRP futures contracts, while the settlement page listed prior day open interest of 6,894 contracts. CME contract data cannot be compared directly with CoinGlass totals because the products use different contract sizes and reporting methods.

The legal risk surrounding Ripple has also changed. The SEC and Ripple dismissed their appeals in August 2025. The district court’s final judgment remained in force, including a $125.04 million penalty and an injunction concerning future registration violations. The dismissal removed the active appeal, but it did not erase the court’s findings involving Ripple’s institutional sales. The SEC litigation release confirms that status.

Wider U.S. legislation remains unresolved. The CLARITY Act has reached the Senate calendar, but it still requires sufficient floor support, reconciliation with other legislative text and presidential approval. Seven Democratic senators said in July that the Republican proposal still fell short on several matters, and no final Senate vote had been confirmed by Aug. 5.

A confirmed vote or renewed delay could influence sentiment toward XRP and other U.S. traded digital assets. It would not, by itself, guarantee a sustained price move.

Ripple developments have not changed near term momentum Ripple announced strategic investments in ZILO and Licuido on Aug. 3. The companies plan to add transfer agency, token issuance, trading and collateral tools to Ripple’s institutional infrastructure on the XRP Ledger. Ripple did not disclose the investment amounts or financial targets. The official company announcement described RLUSD as a settlement asset for tokenized fund transactions.

As crypto.news reported in related coverage, the investments support Ripple’s broader move into tokenized capital markets. They have not yet produced disclosed revenue, transaction volume or XRP demand that can be tied directly to the token’s price.

The XRP Ledger also faced a validator manifest flood in late July. Developers released xrpld version 3.2.1 to restrict the processing and storage of untrusted manifests. The ledger continued closing normally, and no confirmed loss of funds or altered transactions was reported. Node operators were urged to install the update.

The next price signal will likely come from the market itself. Traders will watch whether XRP can hold $1.05, reclaim $1.10 and build stronger volume above $1.15. Open interest should also stabilize without price making new lows. Continued ETF inflows would be more constructive if they coincide with positive spot flows and stronger momentum.

A break below $1.05 would keep $1.00 exposed. A confirmed daily recovery above $1.15 would weaken the immediate bearish structure. Until either event occurs, XRP remains in a low conviction range with reduced leverage and limited bullish confirmation.

FAQs Is XRP oversold? Not on the supplied daily chart. Its RSI near 43.71 remains below neutral but above the conventional oversold level of 30. Shorter time frames have reached oversold readings during recent declines, although those readings did not confirm a lasting bottom.

Does falling open interest support an XRP recovery? It can reduce liquidation risk because fewer leveraged positions remain open. A recovery still requires stronger spot demand, improving momentum and price confirmation above resistance.

Why have XRP ETF inflows not lifted the price? ETF demand represents only one part of the market. It can be offset by direct token selling, hedging, weak offshore demand and distributions from existing holders.

What are the main XRP levels to watch? The immediate support range is $1.05 to $1.06, followed by $1.00. Initial resistance sits near $1.10, with stronger confirmation required above $1.13 to $1.15.

Disclosure: This article does not represent investment advice. The content and materials featured on this page are for educational purposes only.

The XRP Ledger is getting one of its biggest updates in a long time, moving from version 3.2.1 to version 3.3.0. The upgrade brings six new features, though not all of them are as new or exciting as they sound.

How XRPL Updates Actually Work

The XRP Ledger runs on a network of computers called nodes, all connected to each other and all running the same software, known as XRP Ledger D. The “D” stands for daemon, which is just a technical term for a background service.

Version numbers follow a simple pattern: major changes update the first number, new features update the second number, and small bug fixes update the third number. Going from 3.2.1 to 3.3.0 means new features are being added, not a fundamental overhaul of how the network works.

Batch: Bundling Transactions Together

The new Batch feature lets users bundle up to eight transactions into one now, rather than signing each one individually. One version of this feature, called all-or-nothing mode, ensures a group of transactions either all succeed together or none of them happen at all, a concept known as atomic settlement.

This matters most for two use cases: letting retail apps monetize more easily, and enabling what’s called delivery versus payment for institutions, where two parties can exchange cash and assets with complete certainty that the trade either fully completes or doesn’t happen at all.

Permission Delegation: Sharing Control Without Losing It

This feature lets institutions hand over specific transaction permissions to other parties without giving up overall control. For example, Ripple could use this to let partner banks help mint its RLUSD stablecoin, similar to how Circle already allows partners to help mint USDC. That could expand how much RLUSD gets issued without Ripple handling every transaction itself.

Sponsor: Removing a Technical Barrier for New Users

Right now, doing almost anything on the XRP Ledger requires locking up some amount of XRP, whether that’s activating an account, creating a trading offer, or holding tokens and NFTs. The Sponsor feature lets companies cover XRP reserve costs for their users now, meaning a business like a neobank could pay these technical costs on a customer’s behalf, making it possible for everyday users to interact with the XRPL without needing to understand its underlying reserve requirements.

Confidential Transfers: Limited Privacy, Not Full Anonymity

Confidential Transfers hides balances only for the multi-purpose token standard, the newer token type built for tokenizing real-world assets like stocks and bonds. This does not hide XRP balances, NFT holdings, or standard IOU tokens.

With this feature, the fact that a transfer happened remains visible, but the actual amount being sent, and how much someone held beforehand, stays hidden. Institutions can still selectively disclose that information for tax or compliance purposes when needed. Broader privacy features covering entire accounts, and potentially XRP itself, are expected to arrive later, likely next year.

Two Features That Are Less Than They Sound

Dynamic MPT simply makes the multi-purpose token standard more flexible by allowing its properties to change after a token is created, a useful but fairly minor enhancement. Fix Cleanup isn’t really a feature at all. It’s simply a bundle of software and security fixes rolled into the update. Two of the six announced features are actually less significant than the others, based on how the update was framed.

Of everything included in version 3.3.0, Batch is expected to have the most impact on everyday users, since it directly improves how transactions feel to use on the network.

Story Ends Here

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A recent disclosure from cryptocurrency researcher SMQKE has drawn attention to ECS Fin, a New York-based financial technology firm, for its role in connecting Ripple and its native token, XRP, to major institutional payment networks including SWIFT and the US Federal Reserve.

ECS Fin and major payment railsECS Fin provides payment processing and transaction messaging services to banks and corporations globally. The company is recognized for integrating financial institutions with payment channels such as Fedwire, SWIFT, and ACH, while supporting industry standards like ISO 20022. ECS Fin’s solutions facilitate interbank transactions and real-time payment capabilities.

In October 2025, ECS Fin secured SWIFT Compatible Application status for its IMS Payments platform, illustrating its deep entrenchment in global payments infrastructure. The company’s established relationships with key financial networks position it as a pivotal intermediary for banks moving funds across systems.

Mini dictionary: ECS Fin is a US-based fintech company specializing in banking transaction processing and connectivity for global payments and settlement systems.

Ripple listed as a ready applicationScreenshots shared by SMQKE displayed Ripple as a “Ready Application” on ECS Fin’s platform, along with industry giants like SWIFT, FedACH, Fedwire, FedNow, and Mastercard. This designation signals that ECS Fin’s technology enables institutions to process payments through Ripple’s network on the same basis as established banking channels.

Ripple has been included in ECS Fin’s platform alongside SWIFT and the Federal Reserve, allowing connected banks to utilize Ripple’s technology as they would other major payment networks.

Banks working with ECS Fin can now access Ripple’s XRP-powered payment solutions and route transactions through these channels without direct relationships with Ripple. Although Ripple does not hold a master account with the Federal Reserve, ECS Fin serves as an intermediary, granting indirect access to national payment rails.

With the Federal Reserve’s Fedwire service fully adopting the ISO 20022 messaging standard in July, ECS Fin’s compliance with this protocol further streamlines interoperability between Ripple and institutional counterparts. Ripple’s own framework aligns with ISO 20022, facilitating its integration into established financial ecosystems.

Industry impact of the integrationRipple’s listing on ECS Fin’s platform signifies its elevated standing among global payment networks. Industry data reveals that over 70% of FedNow vendors also have ties to Ripple, either directly or through intermediaries, which broadens the cryptocurrency company’s reach within US instant payments.

In addition, Ripple’s application for a Fed Master account suggests ambitions to offer stablecoin services linked to the Federal Reserve’s rails. As Ripple deepens its relationships with institutions via ECS Fin and similar partners, it continues to strengthen its institutional presence in the payments sector.

PlatformIntegration StatusMajor Networks SupportedECS FinSupports Ripple, SWIFT, FedACH, Fedwire, FedNow, MastercardFedwire, SWIFT, ACH, RippleRippleReady Application on ECS FinAccessible via ECS Fin’s integrations Ripple’s growing institutional access reflects broader trends in the financial industry, as digital asset networks gain compatibility with legacy payment infrastructures through vendors like ECS Fin.

Disclaimer: The information contained in this article does not constitute investment advice. Investors should be aware that cryptocurrencies carry high volatility and therefore risk, and should conduct their own research.

Ripple President Monica Long says the shift in institutional capital markets is no longer a question of timing. Speaking recently, Long argued that the industry has moved past the pilot phase and into full production deployments on the $XRP Ledger.

From Pilots to Production Long has been consistent in framing 2026 as a turning point. In a January outlook published on Ripple's website, she wrote that 5 to 10 percent of capital markets settlement is expected to move onchain, driven by regulatory momentum and the adoption of stablecoins by systemically important institutions. Over the last few years, leaders across the crypto industry have laid the technical and regulatory groundwork necessary for long-term adoption, and in 2026, that investment is set to pay off as trusted digital asset infrastructure and expanded utility spur institutional demand, leading more banks, corporates and providers to move from pilot phases into full-scale production.

Ripple has backed that view with concrete moves within the XRPL ecosystem, including supporting ZILO and Liquido to expand tokenized asset infrastructure. The goal, Long has said, is to provide the full stack of digital asset infrastructure, allowing institutional participants to take advantage of the entire lifecycle of a tokenized asset on the XRP Ledger.

Aviva Investors Brings a Live Product to XRPL The clearest signal of that shift came on July 29, when Aviva Investors, the global asset management arm of UK insurance giant Aviva plc, rolled out a tokenized share class for its US Dollar Liquidity Fund on the XRP Ledger, becoming the firm's first tokenized investment fund. The Central Bank of Ireland approved the structure, which the firms called a regulatory first for tokenized funds. All underlying assets are held by BNY Mellon. The fund targets low-risk returns and daily liquidity through exposure to high-grade US dollar-denominated short-term debt instruments. Komainu provided regulated institutional digital asset custody and Licuido supplied the tokenization infrastructure for the launch.

The blockchain-based share class offers the same investment strategy, risk profile, daily liquidity and investor protections as the conventional fund while enabling more efficient fund operations through tokenization. The rollout turns their February partnership into a live investment product. The initiative marks Aviva's first tokenization effort and Ripple's first deal with a Europe-based asset manager.

According to RWA.xyz, the XRP Ledger tracked roughly $4.37 billion in real-world assets on July 29, 2026, split between $313.3 million in distributed assets and $4.06 billion in represented assets. Ripple's ambition is to support the full lifecycle of tokenized assets on that infrastructure, from issuance through settlement and beyond.

Sources:
Ripple: Monica Long Crypto Predictions and Trends for 2026
Crypto Briefing: Aviva Investors debuts first tokenized fund on XRP Ledger
CoinDesk: Aviva Investors to tokenize funds on XRP Ledger in Ripple partnership

Intesa Sanpaolo, Italy’s largest banking group, has significantly changed the composition of its crypto exchange-traded fund (ETF) holdings, according to its latest mandatory disclosure to US regulators.

Sharp reduction in Bitcoin ETF exposureAccording to the Form 13F filed with the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) on July 31, the bank’s common shareholding in the iShares Bitcoin Trust fund fell dramatically between March and June. The reported position decreased from 646,809 shares on March 31 to 40,723 by June 30, marking an approximate 94% reduction.

Intesa Sanpaolo also reduced its exposure through call options. The underlying share count tied to these positions fell steeply, from 2,496,500 to 18,000, which reflects a drop of over 99%. Additionally, the June filing introduced a new put option tied to 500,000 underlying shares, a position that did not appear in earlier disclosures.

Asset/PositionMarch 31 HoldingsJune 30 HoldingsChange (%)iShares Bitcoin Trust (Common Shares)646,80940,723-93.7%iShares Bitcoin Trust (Call Options)2,496,50018,000-99.3%iShares Bitcoin Trust (Put Options)0500,000New PositionThe Form 13F report, a quarterly filing required by institutional investment managers with at least $100 million in assets under management, only reveals positions held as of the end of the reporting period. It does not specify strike prices, expiry dates, or whether options were sold short, leaving the bank’s precise strategy and risk exposure open to interpretation.

Intesa Sanpaolo is Italy’s leading financial institution, with operations spanning commercial banking, asset management, and insurance in Europe and beyond.

Ethereum positions surge as Solana holdings all but disappearWhile reducing its Bitcoin ETF exposure, Intesa Sanpaolo increased its stake in the iShares Staked Ethereum Trust fund. The bank tripled its holding, from 116,200 shares on March 31 to 349,600 shares at the end of June.

Meanwhile, its investment in the Bitwise Solana Staking ETF was almost entirely eliminated, dropping from 2,817 shares to just seven between quarters. Holdings of the Grayscale XRP Trust ETF remained steady at 712,319 shares, showing little to no movement after accounting for possible trading activity that left the quarter-end balance unchanged.

ETFMarch 31 SharesJune 30 SharesChangeiShares Staked Ethereum Trust116,200349,600+201%Bitwise Solana Staking ETF2,8177-99.8%Grayscale XRP Trust ETF712,319712,3190% Intesa Sanpaolo reported a sharp reduction in both its Bitcoin ETF and call option positions, while increasing its staked Ethereum fund exposure more than threefold. The bank’s Solana holdings nearly vanished, with XRP balances remaining unaltered over the quarter.

Form 13F filings reveal only a snapshot at the end of each quarter, presenting limited insight into daily trading or rationale behind trades. The filings do not capture written or short option strategies and lack detail concerning strike prices or expiration dates.

Due to these disclosure gaps, outside observers cannot definitively calculate the bank’s net exposure to any crypto asset based only on publicly available records.

Nevertheless, the data show Intesa Sanpaolo’s declared crypto investments now favor staked Ethereum over Bitcoin, with dramatically reduced exposure to Solana and steady XRP holdings.

Mini dictionary: Form 13F, a quarterly report that US institutional investment managers managing at least $100 million in certain securities must file with the SEC, disclosing their equity holdings as of the quarter’s end.

Disclaimer: The information contained in this article does not constitute investment advice. Investors should be aware that cryptocurrencies carry high volatility and therefore risk, and should conduct their own research.

The XRP Ledger Foundation (XLRP) has extended public node access to the XRP Ledger (XRPL) with a new partnership with Ankr. Under the deal, Ankr will provide a network of public nodes on XRPL across the globe. The release comes just days before the expected xrpld v3.3.0 mainnet upgrade.

A Look At XRP Ledger & Ankr’s Partnership The new infrastructure aims to facilitate the interaction between developers and users with XRP Ledger, while eliminating the need to run their own nodes and enhancing the network’s reach.

The XRP Ledger Foundation stated in a post on X “We’re expanding public infrastructure access to the XRP Ledger for developers and users with Ankr. Globally distributed XRPL nodes from New York to Singapore to give you the best connectivity.”

XRPL dUNL validator Vet also commented on the rollout. He wrote, “Adding more public XRP Ledger infrastructure for developers and users, without having them run their own nodes.” He mentioned that Ankr has launched a node RPC network with nodes distributed all over the world and a monitoring website for the XRPL network. “Full history access will be available at a later time,” he said.

The interface in the newly launched portal offers XRP Ledger mainnet and testnet free JSON-RPC endpoints. In addition, there is a real-time overview view of network health, block height, median latency, global reach, request volume and average requests per second.

There is a Quickstart section to give developers ready-to-use examples in cURL and JavaScript. In addition, it features a panel that lists all active nodes in Singapore, New York, Amsterdam and San Francisco, with traffic automatically rerouted to the most appropriate node.

Adding more public $XRP Ledger infrastructure for developers and users, without having them run their own nodes.@ankr has setup a globally distributed XRPL node RPC infra for this purpose and a website for monitoring and data – https://t.co/ZTySuoekEg

Full history access will… https://t.co/eBtf1FTvqg pic.twitter.com/yOY9NPxmkX

— Vet (@Vet_X0) August 3, 2026

It marks a notable feat for the XRPL network after the fixCleanup3_2_0 amendment went live last week with 85.71% consensus support.

About The Upcoming Version 3.3.0 Upgrade Amid the node infrastructure rollout, RippleX Head of Product Jazzi Cooper will be readying the xrpld v3.3.0 release set for next week, contingent on validator approval. Announcing five proposed amendments, Cooper said, “XRPL has already proven it can support tokenized assets at scale. Now it’s time to put these assets to use: global transfers, trading, collateralizing, and settling.” She added that the release “includes five amendments that move XRPL significantly closer to that goal.”

The proposed amendments on XRP Ledger include the introduction of Confidential MPT, which introduces privacy to the Multi-Purpose Tokens with the application of zero-knowledge proofs. Batch will support atomic settlement and delivery versus payment workflows. Permission Delegation will enable institutions to delegate limited transaction permissions without relinquishing their signing power.

Meanwhile, Sponsored Fees and Reserves will allow banks, issuers and platforms to pay for the transaction fee and account reserves for their users. Dynamic MPT will enable issuers to change certain properties of the selected tokens after issuance. However, Cooper reminded that “these amendments will only activate following validator approval” on XRP Ledger.

The company has made two new strategic investments, aiming to bring regulated fund issuance, settlement, and collateral mobility onto the XRP Ledger.

Ripple has expanded its digital capital markets strategy. The company announced today investments in Zilo and Lucuido – two firms that are focused on developing infrastructure for tokenized funds and institutional asset trading.

The move builds on existing partnerships with both firms. Ripple did not disclose the size of either investment.

Speaking on the matter was Nigel Khakoo, SVP, Trading and Markets at Ripple, who said:

“… ZILO and Licuido provide core capabilities that are essential to further scaling this shift: regulated digital transfer agency infrastructure and liquidity for issuance and collateral mobility. This is just the beginning of the journey, and we see a substantial opportunity to bring huge efficiencies to the investment sector over the next decade.”

ZILO provides transfer agency and fund administration technology. Its systems give asset managers and custodians regulated digital records for tokenized share classes. Licuido, on the other hand, operates an FCA-regulated platform that supports the issuance, distribution, trading, and use of traditional assets as digital collateral.

Ripple plans to integrate these capabilities with its infrastructure on the XRP Ledger. The company wants institutions to issue tokenized assets, hold them in custody, move them between investors, and use them as collateral without relying on legacy systems.

Naturally, RLUSD will serve as the regulated cash component for delivery-versus-payment transactions. This structure is designed to allow the asset and payment sides of a trade to settle together on XRPL.

The investments also support Ripple’s recent push to build a broader institutional platform around tokenization, payments, stablecoins, and trading. Last month, the firm launched Ripple Mint and made an investment in compliance provider Notabene. This strengthens the infrastructure that’s available to institutions using RLUSD.

You may also like: July’s Biggest Ripple (XRP) Stories: RLUSD Expansion, AI, and Institutional Adoption Ripple (XRP) News and Price Update: July 27 Do People Interested in XRP Actually Care About Ripple? It’s also noteworthy that the company has worked with Aviva Investors, Franklin Templeton, and DBS on tokenized fund and collateral projects. Ripple said that ZILO and Licuido will help turn those individual partnerships into infrastructure that asset managers can use at scale.

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Wietse Wind, founder and developer of the Xaman wallet, has issued an urgent alert to the XRP community after scammers used a verified X (formerly Twitter) account to promote an alleged “XMN” token falsely linked to the Xaman project.

The fraudulent post appeared from the official X account of Arlington ISD, suggesting attackers managed to compromise and take control of this verified account. The scammers adopted Xaman’s official branding and announced that a token claim process for XMN was live on the XRPL network, directing users to an “allocation checker” site.

By leveraging a high-profile, verified social media account, the scammers increased the apparent legitimacy of their claims. Such tactics, which rely on capturing trust through recognizable brands or verification marks, are increasingly common in phishing attacks targeting cryptocurrency users.

Wietse Wind responded quickly, making it clear that Xaman has no token now or planned for the future, and categorically called the campaign a scam targeting unsuspecting users.

There is no Xaman token. There will not be a Xaman token. These are scams, and users should remain vigilant against such attempts at deception.

Wind and the Xaman team reiterated their commitment to monitoring for impersonation and scam accounts, while encouraging the community to report suspicious activity.

Escalation of fraud in the XRP ecosystemAttempts to impersonate the Xaman wallet or launch fake tokens have persisted throughout 2026, with increasingly aggressive tactics appearing across the XRP ecosystem. Earlier this year, South Korean authorities arrested a group accused of stealing 3.4 million XRP (about $8.55 million) from 71 individuals by exploiting trust in the community through similar schemes.

Ripple‘s former CTO, David Schwartz, also highlighted the growing sophistication of coordinated phishing efforts, with malicious actors launching fake airdrops, running giveaway schemes, and adopting the branding of established teams to lure victims and drain their assets.

Such attacks generally seek to create a sense of urgency or legitimacy, pushing users to act quickly and hand over sensitive access or sign transactions they do not fully understand.

Scammers consistently manufacture urgency, borrow legitimate branding, and pressure users to act before verifying the authenticity of claims.

Wietse Wind has remained consistent in his advice to the community. He urges users not to sign transactions unless they are certain of a source’s legitimacy, to avoid engaging with any social media posts or accounts offering free tokens, airdrops, or promising early access to products or features that have not been confirmed by official channels.

He emphasized that Xaman does not have a desktop wallet, browser extension, or proprietary token. Any communication suggesting otherwise should be treated as fraudulent. Users are strongly advised to double-check announcements directly from official sites and social channels before taking any action.

Reporting suspicious accounts or domains remains a crucial step in countering these scams. Wind and other prominent figures in the space continue to stress that a proactive, cautious approach offers the best protection amid a rise in social engineering and phishing attempts.

Amid increased scam activity, platforms that facilitate easier and safer access to digital assets also attract attention. For instance, 1stepSwap stands out as a user-friendly platform bridging traditional finance and crypto by directly tokenizing real-world assets such as US equities and commodities like gold and silver onto the blockchain. Its market scanning algorithms ensure that trades are executed at the most competitive price instantly, enabling users to diversify their portfolios while maintaining direct wallet custody, without intermediaries.

The risk of scams grows alongside greater integration between traditional assets and blockchain solutions, highlighting the importance of vigilance, verification, and reliance on trusted sources in the digital asset space.

Disclaimer: The information contained in this article does not constitute investment advice. Investors should be aware that cryptocurrencies carry high volatility and therefore risk, and should conduct their own research.

Ripple’s valuation in the private market has reached an estimated $50 billion, reflecting a 400% increase from its 2019 estimate of $10 billion. The new valuation coincided with a $750 million share buyback that enabled employees and early investors to sell shares to the company at the updated price.

Ripple’s growth driven by buyback and product expansionThis valuation increase comes amid Ripple’s ongoing legal dispute with the US Securities and Exchange Commission, a case that has spanned several years. Despite the regulatory headwinds, Ripple has expanded its operations globally, secured new licenses, launched the RLUSD stablecoin, and bolstered its digital asset custody and enterprise payment infrastructure via strategic acquisitions.

Ripple operates as a fintech company focused on enterprise blockchain payments and cross-border transaction solutions. Its latest initiatives are aimed at broadening the use and adoption of blockchain technology in institutional finance and global payments.

While the valuation of Ripple as a company does not directly affect the XRP token price, analysts note that a stronger capital base allows for accelerated development on the XRP Ledger, wider RLUSD adoption, and scaling up of institutional payment offerings. These developments have the potential to attract more banks, asset managers, and institutions and may support long-term demand for XRP.

Institutional outlook: Standard Chartered’s targetsInstitutional sentiment for XRP remains robust. Standard Chartered, one of the world’s leading international banking groups, recently published its long-term cryptocurrency outlook and reaffirmed its 2030 XRP target of $28. The bank also maintained targets of $500,000 for Bitcoin, $40,000 for Ethereum, and $2,000 for Solana, despite adjusting certain short-term forecasts.

Standard Chartered’s maintained $28 price target for XRP signals continued confidence in XRP’s expected participation in expanding markets for cross-border payments, stablecoins, and tokenized real-world assets.

Reaching the $28 mark would imply an approximately 2,500% rally from the current price of $1.08, according to market data provider CoinCodex. Achieving this long-term target would likely require increased institutional adoption, greater use of the XRP Ledger for tokenization and payments, steady ETF demand, and greater regulatory clarity in major financial markets.

AssetCurrent PriceStandard Chartered 2030 TargetPotential UpsideXRP$1.08$282,500%Bitcoin$68,000$500,000635%Ethereum$3,400$40,0001,076%Solana$150$2,0001,233%XRP’s recent performance reflects growing enterprise interest. On-chain data shows that XRP registered the highest average transaction size among major cryptocurrencies, a metric typically linked to institutional or enterprise-level transfers. Evernorth, a business division focused on digital health services, is reportedly increasing its use of XRP for treasury management, strengthening the trend toward enterprise capital movement within the network.

Mini dictionary: Evernorth is a health services company under Cigna, providing digital and data-driven solutions. Its enhanced use of XRP in treasury operations suggests a growing trend of blockchain applications beyond financial services.

Indicators of increasing institutional demandInvestors are also showing confidence by moving considerable amounts of XRP off Binance and into self-custody, suggesting a preference for long-term holding. In addition, US spot XRP ETFs have drawn more than $1.5 billion in cumulative net inflows, reducing the liquid supply on exchanges and increasing institutional exposure to the asset.

These developments—Ripple’s higher valuation, Standard Chartered’s reaffirmed forecast, surging institutional transaction sizes, growing treasury use, strong ETF inflows, and exchange outflows—point to sustained institutional confidence in the Ripple and XRP ecosystem, despite ongoing market volatility.

Major global investors and institutions continue to position for Ripple’s anticipated role in the future digital asset landscape, as reflected by recent capital flows and corporate strategies.

Disclaimer: The information contained in this article does not constitute investment advice. Investors should be aware that cryptocurrencies carry high volatility and therefore risk, and should conduct their own research.

A fraudulent social media campaign targeting the XRP community has surfaced, involving fake announcements that attempt to lure users into handing over their digital assets. Hussein Zangana, director of community at the XRP Ledger Foundation, warned users about the scam in a recent post.

Phishing scam impersonates RippleA popular XRP-focused X account, BankXRP, called attention to a deceptive post claiming Ripple would launch “XRP Holder Tiers.” The message, presented through an impersonation of the official Ripple X account, encouraged users to visit a fake website to claim exclusive XRP badges.

Scammers stated that these tiers would unlock special benefits for holders. By driving traffic to the fraudulent link, they aimed to trick users into connecting their wallets or entering sensitive information, such as seed phrases, which would allow attackers to steal their XRP tokens.

BankXRP emphasized that the real Ripple organization did not issue the announcement, and stressed that neither Ripple nor the XRP Ledger prompts holders to claim badges or register for perks. Security advocates advised the community to avoid interacting with suspicious links, and to be wary of any requirement to share wallet credentials.

XRP leaders: Stay vigilant amid sophisticated scamsHussein Zangana confirmed that the circulating announcement was entirely fraudulent and urged the XRP community to remain alert for similar attempts.

Community leaders pointed to a rising trend of attackers impersonating leading blockchain projects, imitating official messaging, and promoting malicious sites or tokens to deceive users and compromise their funds.

Wietse Wind, a prominent developer in the XRPL ecosystem, separately warned users that there is no “Xaman token,” highlighting an emerging pattern of fake token announcements designed to mislead investors.

Firelight and Flare Network targeted by impersonatorsThe operators of Firelight, an XRP-based liquid staking protocol running on the Flare Network, issued their own alert. In an official statement, Firelight cautioned users to interact only with its verified X account, Discord server, and website, as several fake accounts had begun impersonating the project. The team urged people to ignore these false profiles and to avoid providing any information or assets to fraudulent sources.

The incident highlights the challenges digital asset holders face in monitoring for scams, especially as cybercriminals persistently develop new methods to exploit unsuspecting users. As the ecosystem evolves, platforms like 1stepSwap are emerging to address transparency and security concerns. Through its innovative structure, 1stepSwap makes it possible to access real-world assets such as major US company shares and commodities directly on the blockchain using a personal wallet, streamlining portfolio diversification and ensuring users always receive the best prices available, while eliminating unnecessary intermediaries.

Law enforcement interventionResponding to the surge in crypto-related scams, authorities in Seoul arrested three people this week accused of operating a fraudulent XRP staking platform. Investigators reported that the group impersonated Flare Network and FXRP projects, tricking 71 victims into transferring approximately 3.4 million XRP. The suspected scammers ultimately amassed digital assets worth 27.3 billion won, equal to about $19 million, in their wallets.

Officials noted an increase in criminal tactics such as launching fake staking opportunities or issuing counterfeit utility tokens, underscoring the importance of verifying every detail before engaging with any blockchain project.

The series of incidents underscores the persistent risk facing holders of XRP and other digital assets, who are advised to maintain vigilance and ensure they interact solely with trusted sources for all transactions and project updates.

Disclaimer: The information contained in this article does not constitute investment advice. Investors should be aware that cryptocurrencies carry high volatility and therefore risk, and should conduct their own research.

Cover image via U.Today Disclaimer: The opinions expressed by our writers are their own and do not represent the views of U.Today. The financial and market information provided on U.Today is intended for informational purposes only. U.Today is not liable for any financial losses incurred while trading cryptocurrencies. Conduct your own research by contacting financial experts before making any investment decisions. We believe that all content is accurate as of the date of publication, but certain offers mentioned may no longer be available.

Ripple CTO emeritus David Schwartz hints he remains involved with XRP in a recent X conversation, despite stepping away from day-to-day duties at Ripple.

Schwartz revealed in late September 2025 that he will step down from his day-to-day activities as Ripple CTO at the end of the year. Ahead of the announcement, he spun up his own XRP Ledger node to publish its output data while researching other use cases for XRP.

Now, the Ripple CTO emeritus's recent comments hint that his retirement does not imply abandoning XRP. Schwartz responded to an X user who pointed to his recent observation about the XRP Ledger network, derived from his hub, to suggest that he didn't retire from XRP.

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"If you had any doubt about whether David was retiring from just Ripple or also from XRP," the X user wrote. Schwartz replied, saying, "It was fun spending a few hours working like I used to and having a Zoom call with the team again."

It was fun spending a few hours working like I used to and having a Zoom call with the team again.

— David 'JoelKatz' Schwartz (@JoelKatz) July 31, 2026 Being an original architect of the XRP Ledger, Schwartz's comments have reassured many XRP supporters who questioned whether his retirement marked a complete departure from the XRP ecosystem.

Ripple CTO emeritus observation leads to XRPL fixOn Friday, Ripple CTO emeritus David Schwartz indicated that his hub was experiencing difficulties. The issue caused the hub to lose peers with "onReadMessage: No message of desired type" during negotiation, followed by a connection loss.

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The same issue was confirmed by XRPL Analytics App, xrpl.to, which stated that the problem was network-wide.

Schwartz's contribution to solving the issue may be inferred from his mention of having a Zoom call with the team and working for a couple of hours, which one might assume occurred in this context.

XRP Ledger version 3.2.1 was released shortly after, fixing the manifest flood observed on Friday, July 31. Nodes had previously accepted, stored, and rebroadcast an unlimited number of manifests from unknown validator keys; version 3.2.1 adds four limits to fix the issue.

Aug 1, 2026, 6:09 a.m.

2 min read

XRP Ledger upgrade brings back features once pulled over critical bugs. (Kevin Ku/Unsplash/Modified by CoinDesk)Summary

The XRP Ledger’s upcoming xrpld 3.3.0 release will ask validators to approve five amendments, including revised versions of previously flawed Batch and Permission Delegation features.Batch would allow up to eight cross-account transactions to execute atomically, while Permission Delegation would let institutions grant narrowly scoped signing authority without exposing full control.New amendments—Confidential MPT, Sponsored Fees and Reserves, and Dynamic MPT—aim to enable private tokenized-asset activity, let institutions sponsor users’ XRP costs, and make certain token properties adjustable without full migrations, all still requiring 80% validator approval for two weeks.The XRP Ledger's next software release will put five new features in front of validators, two of which were pulled from the network after security researchers found flaws serious enough to warrant emergency action.

Jazzi Cooper, head of product at RippleX, said Friday that xrpld 3.3.0 is expected next week carrying Confidential MPT, Batch, Permission Delegation, Sponsored Fees and Reserves, and Dynamic MPT.

XRPL has already proven it can support tokenized assets at scale. Now it’s time to put these assets to use: global transfers, trading, collateralizing, and settling.

The upcoming release of xrpld 3.3.0 includes five amendments that move XRPL significantly closer to that goal.…

— Jazzi Cooper (@jazzicoop) July 31, 2026 Amendments are proposed protocol changes that only take effect once at least 80% of trusted validators back them for two consecutive weeks, a threshold designed so the network rather than Ripple decides what ships.

The Batch and Permission Delegation amendments have been through that process before and failed it.

Batch, which lets up to eight transactions across different accounts execute together so that either all succeed or none do, reached its voting phase in February.

Security researcher Pranamya Keshkamat and the firm Cantina had then found a flaw in how the amendment validated signatures that would have let an attacker execute transactions from any account without holding its keys.

Validators (entities that supply their resources to run and maintain a network) were advised to reject it, and an emergency server release marked it unsupported to prevent activation. No funds were lost, because it never reached the main network.

Permission Delegation, which lets an institution grant another account narrowly scoped authority without handing over full signing power, was disclosed as vulnerable in September 2025 and disabled.

The bug allowed one account to charge transaction fees to another and potentially drain its balance. The ledger's documentation has listed both amendments as obsolete since, to be replaced by revised versions.

(Shaurya Malwa/CoinDesk)The other three are new. Confidential MPT combines zero-knowledge proofs, which let someone prove a statement is true without revealing the underlying data, with elliptic-curve encryption, so that balances and transfer amounts on Multi-Purpose

Tokens stay private while auditors or regulators can still verify them when required.

Sponsored Fees and Reserves lets a bank or platform cover another account's XRP fees and reserve requirement, removing the need for every user to acquire XRP before transacting.

Lastly, Dynamic MPT lets an issuer specify at creation which token properties can be changed later, avoiding a full migration to a new token when fees or metadata need updating.

The release marks a shift from where the ledger stood two weeks ago. In mid-July, all five sat in development on the XRP Ledger's amendment tracker, and what validators could actually vote on was a set of bug-fix bundles covering the lending protocol, single-asset vaults, the permissioned exchange and multi-purpose tokens.

Approval is not automatic. The lending protocol and single-asset vault amendments have each drawn roughly a third of validator support against the 80% they need, and Batch already has a record of being voted down.

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The Evolution of the Crypto CEX Landscape: A Case Study on Binance

The Evolution of the Crypto CEX Landscape: A Case Study on Binance

Binance remains crypto’s leading exchange, expanding from spot and derivatives into RWAs, payments, savings, yield, and broader financial services.

Jun 29, 2026

Binance remains crypto’s leading exchange, expanding from spot and derivatives into RWAs, payments, savings, yield, and broader financial services.

Why it matters:

Binance remains crypto’s leading exchange, expanding from spot and derivatives into RWAs, payments, savings, yield, and broader financial services.

Altcoins

1 August 2026 | 09:43 XRP held near $1.06 on August 1, with price still confined between $1.05 support and resistance near $1.11 as Binance open interest fell to a 15-month low.

Key Takeaways Binance open interest fell to approximately $186 million, its lowest since April 2025. The lighter derivatives market reduces liquidation risk but provides little indication of direction. The expected xrpld 3.3.0 release includes five amendments that will still require validator approval. XRP trades near $1.06 after breaking below its rising triangle and finding support around $1.05.

Our July 28 analysis identified $1.05 as the next important test after price lost the triangle’s lower boundary. Buyers defended the level, but the rebound stopped below both the broken trendline and the 50-day simple moving average.

Price has remained in that narrow area since then, without retesting $1.05 or making a serious attempt to recover $1.11.

Daily technical price chart showing XRP moving sideways. Open Interest Has Reset While Price Stalls According to a CryptoQuant analysis, open interest in Binance’s stablecoin-margined XRP contracts fell to approximately $186 million on July 31, its lowest level since April 2025.

Bybit held roughly $229 million, while OKX accounted for another $49 million. Binance and Bybit represented nearly 89% of the combined open interest across the three exchanges.

CryptoQuant chart tracking XRP multi-exchange open interest across multiple derivatives platforms. Open interest measures the value of futures positions that remain active. The current reading shows that less leveraged capital is committed to XRP than during the major expansion phases of 2025.

With fewer positions in the market, XRP is less exposed to a large chain of forced liquidations. There is also less speculative pressure capable of quickly driving price beyond either side of the current range.

The data does not reveal whether the next expansion will favor buyers or sellers. Funding rates, volume, liquidations and spot demand are still needed to determine which side is becoming more active.

xrpld 3.3.0 Brings Five Amendments Back Into Focus The XRP Ledger community is also watching the expected release of xrpld 3.3.0.

The release is expected to introduce five proposed amendments for validator consideration:

Confidential MPT: Private balances and transfers for Multi-Purpose Tokens. Batch: Multiple transactions processed together as one operation. Permission Delegation: Controlled account permissions assigned to another address. Sponsored Fees and Reserves: Third parties covering users’ ledger costs. Dynamic MPT: Selected token properties that issuers can modify. Batch and Permission Delegation are revised versions of amendments withdrawn after earlier security reviews.

The original Batch amendment contained a signature-validation flaw that could have allowed unauthorized transactions. Permission Delegation was withdrawn after researchers found that an improperly signed transaction could charge fees to another account.

Neither flaw reached the live network. Their return in revised form reflects additional security work rather than the introduction of five entirely new features.

Jazzi Cooper, head of product at RippleX, posted on X that the amendments are intended to expand how tokenized assets can be transferred, traded, used as collateral and settled on XRPL.

XRPL has already proven it can support tokenized assets at scale. Now it’s time to put these assets to use: global transfers, trading, collateralizing, and settling.

The upcoming release of xrpld 3.3.0 includes five amendments that move XRPL significantly closer to that goal.…

— Jazzi Cooper (@jazzicoop) July 31, 2026

The software release would not activate them immediately. Each amendment must receive support from more than 80% of trusted validators and maintain that threshold for two weeks.

The release may increase developer and community activity, but its effect on XRP will depend on whether that attention produces new market demand.

The Chart Still Comes Down to $1.05 and $1.11 Resistance sits near $1.11, where the 50-day SMA at approximately $1.105 meets the former lower boundary of the rising triangle.

A move into that area would recover some of the decline, but the July breakdown would remain relevant until XRP closes above both the moving average and the broken trendline.

Support remains near $1.05, which has held since July 2 and stopped the latest decline after XRP left the triangle. A daily close beneath it would expose the June 26 low near $1.01.

For now, XRP remains between those levels. Open interest shows limited derivatives participation, while the expected xrpld release provides a scheduled network event rather than a confirmed price catalyst.

Disclaimer: This article is for informational purposes only and does not constitute financial or investment advice. Technical levels, open interest and protocol developments do not guarantee future price performance. Methodology: The analysis uses the XRP/USD daily Coinbase chart dated August 1, 2026, including the 50-day SMA and triangle structure; CryptoQuant stablecoin-margined open-interest data through July 31; the July 28 Coindoo analysis; and official XRP Ledger documentation and vulnerability disclosures. Author

Alex is Editor-in-Chief of Coindoo and co-founder of Millennial Media Group, with nearly a decade of experience covering financial markets - crypto first, then everything else. It started in 2016 with Bitcoin. Like most people at the time, he didn't fully understand it - so he kept digging. Blockchain, tokenomics, the projects, the cycles. That curiosity never stopped, and eventually pulled him into traditional markets too: equities, commodities, macro. Not because he left crypto behind, but because you can't properly understand one without the other. What drives him is straightforward: he wants to know why something is happening, not just that it's happening. Most market coverage stops at the headline - price up, price down, here's a chart. Alex finds that kind of reporting actively unhelpful. If you walk away from an article without understanding the mechanism behind the move, what did you actually learn? He holds a degree in Tourism from New Bulgarian University - not the most obvious path into financial markets, but markets have a way of pulling in people who are simply too curious to stay out. He has authored over 200 in-depth analyses and more than 10,000 articles across crypto and traditional finance. He still thinks every day in markets teaches him something new. That's probably why he hasn't stopped.

The XRP Ledger quietly crossed a significant milestone in the first six months of 2026, adding 489,739 new accounts between January 1 and June 30. That pushed the network’s total account count from 7,913,554 to 8,403,293, and by July active accounts had climbed past 8.42 million.

What’s actually driving the growth Ripple’s RLUSD stablecoin, which runs natively on the XRP Ledger, saw its circulating supply on the network grow to approximately $873 million in the first half of the year. Every RLUSD transaction settles in XRP fees, meaning more stablecoin volume creates structural demand for XRP as a utility token.

According to Messari, XRPL transaction volume exceeded 35% growth quarter-over-quarter in Q1 2026.

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XRP held on exchanges fell to a seven-year low of 2.748 billion tokens, a signal that holders are moving assets into self-custody or longer-term positions. Spot ETF inflows for XRP reached $1.5 billion on a cumulative basis.

The price divergence problem XRP traded near $1.07 in July 2026, down roughly 41% year-to-date. For a network posting its strongest first-half account growth in recent memory, that’s a notable disconnect.

When fewer tokens sit on exchanges, the available float for buyers shrinks. Given that $1.5 billion in cumulative ETF inflows has not yet translated into price recovery, either those inflows are being offset by other selling pressure, or the price has further room to reflect the demand.

RLUSD’s growth adds a structural element: a stablecoin with nearly $873 million in circulating supply on a single chain generates consistent, recurring transaction fee demand. As RLUSD scales further, the fee-burn mechanic means more XRP consumed per unit of economic activity on the ledger.

Context and what to watch The XRP Ledger has been operating since 2012. The 489,739 new accounts added in six months represents a meaningful acceleration in the context of a network that took years to reach its first million accounts.

Three dynamics are worth tracking: RLUSD’s supply trajectory as it approaches $1 billion in circulating supply; the continued decline in exchange-held XRP, which narrowed the available float to 2.748 billion tokens; and the relationship between the $1.5 billion in cumulative spot ETF inflows and a price that remains down 41% year-to-date.

Disclosure: This article was edited by Editorial Team. For more information on how we create and review content, see our Editorial Policy.

$XRP holders are moving their tokens off centralized exchanges at the fastest clip in more than five years, with on-chain data pointing to a broad retreat from sell-side activity even as the price lingers just above the $1 mark.

Withdrawals Hit a Multi-Year Peak On July 31, the seven-day $XRP withdrawal transaction share on Binance surged to 55.6%, the highest level since February 2021, while the same metric across all centralized exchanges reached 54%, according to CryptoQuant data. Deposit transaction shares fell to matching five-year lows of 44.3% on Binance and 45.95% across the broader market.

At the same time, exchange inflows fell to their lowest level ever recorded. Crypto analyst Darkfost observed that average monthly $XRP inflows to exchanges now stand at around 3.6 million XRP, the lowest monthly inflow figure on record. Combined with the surge in withdrawals, the on-chain metrics point toward holders unwilling to sell in large numbers, a condition Darkfost described as seller exhaustion.

Leverage and Reserves Also Pulling Back XRP futures open interest on Binance has fallen to roughly 397 million XRP, its lowest level in over three months, as the token trades around $1.09. A decline in open interest alongside price weakness often reflects deleveraging, as traders reduce or close existing positions.

Binance $XRP reserves have dropped roughly 650 million coins, or about 20%, since November 2024, falling from 2.8 billion in May to around 2.6 billion more recently. Such withdrawals can signal investors moving tokens into self-custody, though they do not automatically translate into upward price pressure without corresponding demand from fresh buyers.

The broader picture suggests a market in consolidation rather than active distribution. Holders appear reluctant to bring coins to market, leveraged bets are being unwound, and exchange supply is thinning. Whether that sets the stage for a recovery or simply reflects a lack of conviction on all sides remains an open question.

Sources:
XRP exchange withdrawals hit 5-year high: Here's what it means, CryptoNews.net
XRP exchange withdrawals hit multi-year high as selling pressure fades, AMBCrypto
XRP Open Interest on Binance Hits a Three-Month Low, Yahoo Finance

Dr. Kamilah Stevenson, a blockchain strategist known as The Wealth Doctor, has put forward a six-part upgrade package for the XRP Ledger aimed at making the public network more attractive to banks and corporations. These proposed changes focus on facilitating confidential transfers and improving compliance features, with the goal of addressing key concerns institutions face when considering public blockchains.

Confidential transfers and compliance focusDr. Stevenson emphasized that financial institutions and corporations have hesitated to use public blockchain networks for sensitive transactions, primarily because transaction data—including balances, counterparties, and timing—are visible to anyone with access to the network. She argues that this visibility compromises privacy and confidentiality, both of which are non-negotiable requirements for many enterprises operating under regulatory oversight.

The confidential transfers feature included in her proposal would conceal transaction amounts from public view while still allowing the ledger to validate the legitimacy of each transfer and ensure no improper creation of assets occurs. This privacy mechanism, according to Dr. Stevenson, is critical for enterprise adoption.

“When technology reaches ordinary people, it disappears,” Dr. Stevenson said, pointing out that consumers could use products built on the upgraded XRP Ledger without having to buy XRP or be aware that blockchain technology underpins the application.

Mini dictionary: XRP Ledger, also known as XRPL, is an open-source, decentralized blockchain widely used for fast, low-cost cross-border payments.

Additional upgrade featuresBeyond confidential transfers, the proposed upgrade package addresses several operational and technical needs. Batch transactions would permit multiple actions to be executed together, succeeding or failing as a single unit, enabling greater efficiency for corporate workflows. Permission delegation is envisioned to allow limited account authority, granting specific permissions to associates or automated processes without sharing full private key access.

The integration of Dynamic NFTs, which are tokens with properties that can be updated after issuance, could attract new enterprise and consumer applications. Additionally, node-performance improvements could yield up to 40% reductions in memory use, potentially lowering infrastructure costs for network participants.

FeaturePurposeIntended UsersConfidential transfersPrivacy for transaction detailsBanks, enterprisesBatch transactionsMultiple actions in one stepInstitutional usersPermission delegationControlled account accessCorporate accountsDynamic NFTsModifiable token featuresDevelopers, enterprisesNode-performance upgradesMemory efficiencyNetwork validatorsGovernance and upgrade processUnder the XRP Ledger’s governance model, any amendment or upgrade requires continuous support from at least 80% of validators over a two-week period. If validator backing falls below this threshold at any point, the activation timer resets. Dr. Stevenson described this conservative protocol as specifically designed to give stability and predictability to institutions evaluating long-term infrastructure investments.

Any proposed features must navigate the amendment process before becoming active on the XRP Ledger, and no set date or validator numbers for this upgrade package have been disclosed.

Since the features remain in the proposal stage, there are as yet no market price movements or adoption figures directly attributed to the potential upgrade. Implementation would ultimately rely on community support, validator consensus, and the resolution of any technical or compliance questions that arise during the approval process.

If these upgrades are adopted, the XRP Ledger could expand its appeal to regulated firms, but actual integration would depend on further alignment with compliance requirements and demonstrated enterprise demand.

Disclaimer: The information contained in this article does not constitute investment advice. Investors should be aware that cryptocurrencies carry high volatility and therefore risk, and should conduct their own research.

In brief A fake staking site that ran for eight days last October took 3.4 million XRP from 71 investors, worth 12.3 billion won ($8.5 million), Seoul police said. Police say the operators impersonated Flare Network and FXRP, and seeded blogs, articles and YouTube with false information. Investigators traced 27.3 billion won ($18.8 million) through wallets linked to the group and froze 17.3 billion won of it. A fake staking site that ran for eight days last October took 3.4 million XRP from 71 investors, worth 12.3 billion won ($8.5 million), Seoul police say. Two men, both 29, have been referred to prosecutors on aggravated fraud charges, local outlet Chosun reported Thursday.

According to police, the site, Fxrpntwork.com, impersonated Flare Network and its FXRP token, both legitimate projects, and promised monthly returns of 1.5% to 1.8% with principal guaranteed. Investors were allegedly directed to move XRP off domestic exchanges, through overseas venues, and into wallets the group controlled, before the site shut down on October 23 and the operators disappeared.

A fake evidence basePolice said the group planted false information on portal blogs, online news articles and Wikipedia, and produced YouTube videos featuring a paid stand-in, so anyone researching the project found what looked like independent corroboration. The scheme followed FXRP's actual launch the month before.

The stand-in, 34, has been charged with fraud. Police put average losses at 173 million won ($119,000) a victim across the week the site was live.

Police froze 17.3 billion won of assets across overseas exchanges as soon as they detected the scheme. Another 10 billion won moved during the investigation and is unaccounted for, they said. Together that is the 27.3 billion won ($18.8 million) investigators traced through wallets linked to the group, well above the 12.3 billion won confirmed lost by the 71 known victims, which police say points to more.

An overseas exchange tipped off police last October about a surge in staking fraud. Investigators executed 54 search and seizure warrants, arrested one suspect at a hideout after he returned from abroad, and picked up the others in sequence. A fourth man, also 29, is overseas under an Interpol Red Notice. None of the four has been tried, and police have not made their identities public.

South Korean police have brought a run of crypto cases this year, including June's charges against 23 people over laundering $11.1 million in USDT for a Cambodia-based phishing ring. Investigators said they would treat crypto fraud with "zero tolerance," and urged investors to check official sources before sending funds.

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South Korean police have uncovered one of the country’s biggest XRP related crypto scams after arresting three suspects linked to a fake staking platform that promised fixed monthly returns. 

Authorities say the fraud pulled in about 3.4 million XRP from 71 victims, while blockchain tracking shows total wallet flows linked to the operation reached 27.3 billion won (around $19 million).

How the Fake XRP Staking Platform Tricked InvestorsAccording to the Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency’s Cyber Investigation Unit, the suspects created a fake website called Fxrpntwork.com between Oct. 16 and Oct. 23, 2025, posing as the legitimate Flare Network and its FXRP ecosystem.

The platform promised investors guaranteed principal protection along with monthly staking returns of 1.5% to 1.8%. 

To make the scheme look real, the group flooded the internet with fake promotional content across Naver blogs, Tistory, Wikipedia pages, online news articles, and YouTube videos, some featuring paid actors pretending to review the platform.

Police said the fraudsters deliberately launched the website around the real FXRP token rollout to make their operation appear legitimate.

🚨SEOUL POLICE BUST $19M XRP STAKING SCAM!

Three arrested over a fake $XRP staking platform that impersonated Flare Network and FXRP around their launch.

71 victims lost about 3.4 million $XRP.

Roughly 27.3 billion won ($19 million) reached the operators’ wallets.

A fourth… pic.twitter.com/AJ825BmoZj

— Crypto Banter (@crypto_banter) July 30, 2026 Instead of sending XRP directly from domestic exchanges, victims were instructed to move their tokens through overseas exchanges before depositing them into wallets controlled by the scammers. This method helped avoid South Korea’s strict monitoring systems for large crypto transfers.

After collecting approximately 3.4 million XRP, the operators shut down the website and disappeared.

Police Freeze $12 Million, But Part of the Crypto Is Still MissingThe investigation began after an overseas cryptocurrency exchange reported suspicious XRP movements to South Korean authorities.

Using blockchain analysis, IP tracking, domain registration records, and conversation logs, investigators froze about 17.3 billion won ($12 million) in XRP and Tether across several overseas exchanges within three days of receiving the alert.

Authorities are now working through legal procedures to confiscate those assets and return them to victims.

However, police said roughly 10 billion won ($7 million) worth of crypto had already been moved before the freeze and remains missing.

One Suspect On the Run, Faces Interpol Red NoticePolice arrested three suspects, meanwhile, authorities obtained an arrest warrant for a fourth suspect, who is believed to be overseas, and have requested an Interpol Red Notice.

The two main suspects have been referred to prosecutors under South Korea’s Act on the Aggravated Punishment of Specific Economic Crimes, while investigators continue executing additional search warrants to identify others involved in promoting the scam and laundering the stolen crypto through OTC traders.

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Franklin Templeton’s spot XRP exchange-traded fund (ETF) recorded a net inflow of $592,000 during the latest trading session, outpacing other XRP ETFs, which saw no new capital. This development drew attention from market observers and sparked discussion around institutional strategies in the digital asset space.

Institutional activity singles out Franklin TempletonCrypto market commentator Digital Asset Investor highlighted that Franklin Templeton clients were the only group to allocate fresh capital to a spot XRP ETF, citing data from BankXRP. Competing providers, including Bitwise, Canary, Grayscale, and 21Shares, reported zero inflows over the same period.

The commentator interpreted this selective buying as a sign of potential institutional confidence ahead of possible regulatory developments in the United States. In recent commentary, Digital Asset Investor questioned whether this accumulation pointed to firms positioning themselves ahead of anticipated market shifts.

Franklin Templeton, a global asset management leader, has consistently advocated for clearer digital asset regulation. The firm has previously voiced support for the proposed CLARITY Act, which aims to define regulatory oversight between the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission and the Commodity Futures Trading Commission.

Franklin Templeton’s targeted inflow stands in stark contrast to its competitors and is viewed by market watchers as a potential indication of early institutional moves ahead of possible regulatory clarity.

Many institutional players have labeled regulatory ambiguity as a key obstacle to significant investment in the digital asset segment. Market watchers suggest that once there is a more certain legal landscape, institutions could commit larger capital reserves to assets such as XRP.

Potential supply squeeze as ETF demand continuesDigital Asset Investor also noted that accumulation by spot ETFs could lower the quantity of XRP available on exchanges. Spot ETFs typically hold the underlying asset in custody, removing it from the circulating supply. If demand from institutional investors increases—particularly after possible regulatory changes—this reduced liquid supply could intensify market movements.

U.S.-listed spot XRP ETFs have seen their total assets under management climb past $1 billion, reflecting growing interest even as net inflows remain modest on a day-to-day basis. Supporters view the ongoing accumulation as an indicator of steady, if gradual, institutional adoption.

This gradual micropattern of ETF inflows, while currently limited in size, is cited as a signal of the direction institutional involvement might take should regulatory certainty emerge to unlock additional allocations.

Some commentators predict that this pattern could accelerate with clarity around legal and regulatory guidelines. If such certainty triggers a surge in institutional investments, the combined effects of ETF accumulation and additional large-scale buying could quickly absorb remaining tokens on exchanges.

This development resonates with growing interest in platforms enabling direct asset access. For instance, 1stepSwap has gained attention for connecting real-world assets with blockchain markets, allowing investors to buy shares of leading U.S. stocks and commodities like gold and silver through their crypto wallets. Its core feature is the ability to identify and secure the best market price in real time, supporting diversification while eliminating unnecessary intermediaries.

While the $592,000 inflow is comparatively small relative to Franklin Templeton’s overall asset base, it underscores the selective and strategic approach institutions may take if regulatory reforms change the investment environment for XRP and similar tokens.

Disclaimer: The information contained in this article does not constitute investment advice. Investors should be aware that cryptocurrencies carry high volatility and therefore risk, and should conduct their own research.