Ripple-backed t54.ai has announced the launch of the XRP Ledger (XRPL) in a bid to build an agentic economy on the network. This comes as the network surpasses 1 million agentic payments.
XRP Ledger AI Hub Goes Live As Network Records New Milestone In an X post, the Ripple-backed firm announced the launch of the XRPL AI Hub, providing a single destination for agents, AI projects, tools, and payment services building on the network. The firm noted that the goal is to make the XRPL AI ecosystem easier to discover, navigate, and build on.
“As more agents, merchants, and services come to XRPL, builders need one place to see what is live, what is possible, and where to contribute,” t54.ai said. The firm added that the hub starts with three core areas, including index, which involves live X402 payment activity on the XRP Ledger.
Furthermore, the hub includes docs, SDKs, repos, and developer resources. The third area is the directory, which includes AI projects, agents, services, and merchants building on the XRPL. t54.ai also revealed that they launched this initiative with support from Ripple developers and the XRPL Foundation.
This move comes just weeks after Ripple launched the XRP Ledger AI starter kit, enabling AI agents to pay with XRP and RLUSD on the network. The rollout back then notably enabled X402 payments, with XRPL now a supported chain in the X402 protocol.
XRPL Foundation Announces New Milestone In an X post, the XRP Ledger Foundation announced that the network has surpassed 1 million agentic payments via the x402 protocol. “Time to double down,” the Foundation added.
We just surpassed 1,000,000 agentic payments via x402 on the $XRP Ledger. Time to double down.
XRPL AI Hub is a comprehensive new ecosystem platform for builders, users, and enthusiasts.
Welcome to the agentic economy on the XRP Ledger.https://t.co/VeEwNmEPyp https://t.co/IfXDi2XOno pic.twitter.com/FGcEjj0BkB
— XRP Ledger Foundation (@XRPLF) July 8, 2026
The Foundation also welcomed the launch of the XRPL AI Hub, noting that it is a comprehensive new ecosystem platform for builders, users, and enthusiasts. XRPL validator Vet said that he wasn’t surprised at the milestone.
He opined that the XRPL Ledger is uniquely positioned with its protocol design that fits very well with what AI needs. “Low cost infra, predictable fees, a native asset XRP that’s listed everywhere and is liquid. and of course a native Decentralized Exchange that lets you swap between assets 24/7 with no censorship,” Vet added.
For more information about AI agents, please check out the Top Web3 AI Agents Directory
Ripple announced XRP (CRYPTO: XRP) will appear on the Kansas Jayhawks’ jerseys as the first cryptocurrency on a major college athletics uniform.
XRP Becomes The First Crypto On A College JerseyRipple signed an official sponsorship deal with the University of Kansas, CEO Brad Garlinghouse’s alma mater, placing an XRP patch on Jayhawks team jerseys.
Corporate logos on college jerseys became possible only after the NCAA ruled in January that Division I programs could begin displaying them starting in August.
“Ripple recognizes the unique reach and passion of the Jayhawk community,” said Kansas Athletics Director Travis Goff.
Beyond the jersey placement, Ripple committed to funding financial and technology education programs for student-athletes and expanding a talent pipeline connecting Kansas graduates to careers in the tech industry.
Garlinghouse called it a rare moment where his professional and personal worlds collide, adding on X that the XRP family should meet the Jayhawks.
Crypto firms sponsoring arenas and professional teams is nothing new, but a patch on a college jersey marks a first for the industry.
The Breakout That Looked Promising Two Days Ago Has Now FailedXRP pushed above its year-long descending trendline earlier this week but couldn’t hold the level, reversing 3% back inside the channel in what the chart frames as a classic bull trap.
Sellers took control the moment follow-through buying failed to materialize.
Support at the $1 to $1.05 demand zone is now the last line of defense. A daily close below $1.05 opens a path toward the $1 psychological floor.
Resistance sits at the $1.10 trendline retest zone and today’s high of $1.1160, which XRP needs to reclaim and hold before any long setup becomes viable.
XRP Longs Got Crushed While Options Activity ExplodesOver the past 24 hours, $8.04 million in long positions were liquidated against just $269.95 thousand in shorts, confirming bulls are taking the brunt of Wednesday’s selloff.
Open interest slipped 4.17% to $2.29 billion, while the overall long/short ratio sits at 0.8954, meaning shorts now slightly outnumber longs across the market.
Options activity tells a different story on sentiment. Options volume jumped 484.96% to $14.72 million and options open interest climbed 46.33% to $38.17 million, suggesting traders are actively buying protection or positioning for a bigger move rather than sitting out the volatility..
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The XRP Ledger is living through a familiar kind of protocol standoff: the people running the network’s most influential nodes say yes, but the broader server base has not followed. A new software release has taken the lead among the ledger’s validators, yet the raw node count still puts the older v3.1.3 client ahead, and the security amendment packed into the upgrade is on a separate, slower ballot. The update needs to cross an 80% threshold on the trusted validator list before it can activate, according to the original report.
The split matters because validator support alone does not guarantee that the network’s transaction relay and full history layers move in unison. Nodes that run the older code still see the chain as valid, but they won’t enforce the new amendment’s rules. That can lead to a schizophrenic network state where the official protocol advances but the infrastructure running it treats the changes as optional. For exchanges, market makers, and custodians watching on-chain settlement, that kind of uncertainty tends to sharpen focus on confirmation logic and reorg risk, however remote.
The security amendment is the real prize. While the broader release ships feature work, the amendment patch is what most node operators will judge on its technical merits. It gets its own vote, and it is running slower. The 80% supermajority mechanism inside the XRP Ledger’s amendment process is designed to prevent rushed changes, but it also means a minority of trusted validators can hold the network back indefinitely if they refuse to upgrade. That is not a bug; it is a deliberate governance choice. But when the software release that bundles the fix already leads among validators, the image of a network half-upgraded can unsettle traders who price the token based on expected protocol hardening.
Why node count still matters more than validator count Validators order the ledger, but regular nodes serve the data. If most full nodes remain on an older client, query responses, transaction submissions, and historical lookups all flow through a version of the code that does not understand the new amendment. This creates a gulf between what the protocol says is the valid chain state and what the surrounding infrastructure reports. It is precisely the kind of operational inconsistency that major integrations try to avoid. The XRP Ledger’s design keeps the amendment process inside the validator set, so non-voting nodes cannot block progress, but a large gap in node adoption still corrodes the practical effect of the upgrade.
The market is unlikely to react strongly to node statistics alone, but the setup is worth watching because it mirrors previous upgrade cycles where validator voting stretched on for weeks while nodes lagged. In those instances, the eventual resolution — whether the amendment activated or was abandoned — gave XRP a brief directional pulse. With no exchange-facing timeline, the waiting itself becomes the story.
The governance test that echoes far beyond one chain Protocol governance fights are not unique to the XRP Ledger. Networks like Ethereum have spent years managing client diversity and upgrade coordination, and even smaller chains have seen validator splits force hard choices. The difference here is that the amendment process does not require a chain halt; it is meant to be seamless, activating once the supermajority clicks into place. But the gap between validator sentiment and node sentiment visible today shows that seamless activation is never automatic. It needs active cajoling, upgrade documentation, and often a bit of pressure from the ecosystem’s economic anchors.
Meanwhile, the wider regulatory climate adds another layer of attention. As major U.S. crypto legislation faces last-minute banking pushback, the operational choices of validators on a network tied to Ripple can feel politically charged even when they are purely technical. That does not mean the node count split has a policy cause; it means the stakes around network reliability look different when the regulatory lens is already focused on the asset.
What traders and watchers should track next The next meaningful signal is not the node count — it is whether the security amendment’s support on the trusted validator list begins to accelerate. If it stalls short of 80%, the market will likely treat the broader software release as cosmetic rather than structural. If it climbs, the narrative could swing from “divided network” to “final countdown” in a single day. The trusted validator list is visible, so on-chain analysts and community dashboards will be the first to know.
In the background, the XRP Ledger’s development activity continues to hold a place among the more actively maintained chains, as seen in recent developer activity rankings. That underlying work matters because amendments rarely land in a vacuum. The network that ships code regularly tends to accumulate the operational experience that makes upgrades less contentious over time. For XRP Ledger, this vote will test whether that muscle memory has taken hold or whether the old pattern of drawn-out validator dances is still the default.
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Ripple CEO Brad Garlinghouse has taken to social media to react to his company securing a historic five-year sponsorship agreement with the University of Kansas.
Garlinghouse mentioned his background in a celebratory post. "Rare moment where my professional and personal worlds collide: XRP is now the first crypto on the jersey of a major college athletics program, at my alma mater," Garlinghouse stated.
A major deal Notably, this is the first time a cryptocurrency company has partnered with a major NCAA Division 1 athletics program.
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The XRP cryptocurrency logo will be prominently featured on the jerseys of the Kansas Jayhawks' football and basketball teams, as well as across all other university athletic uniforms.
The partnership is obviously a huge step toward mainstream brand visibility for the crypto industry. It will introduce XRP to millions of viewers.
Ripple is making a tangible commitment to the academic and financial future of the university's athletes.
The San Francisco-based crypto firm will provide direct funding for specialized financial and technology education initiatives. Student-athletes as well as the broader campus community will be able to benefit from this.
A personal connection The sponsorship carries deep personal significance for Ripple CEO Brad Garlinghouse, who is a Topeka, Kansas native and a proud alumnus of the University of Kansas.
During his time at the university, Garlinghouse earned a Bachelor of Arts in Economics.
It is worth noting that the University of Kansas is already a participant in the XRP ecosystem. It operates an official XRP Ledger validator through its engineering school.
Despite the landmark sponsorship news, the XRP price is down by more than 4%.
However, market data indicates that the announcement may have spurred some speculative trading activity, as XRP futures open interest saw a slight 1% increase in the hours following the partnership reveal.
Price Falls, But the Ledger Keeps Growing$XRP endured a difficult first half of 2026. The token slid for six consecutive months, touching an intraday low of around $1.01 in late June, as broader selling pressure weighed on altcoins. The network picture, however, told a more complicated story.
According to @finbold, daily active accounts on the XRP Ledger fell across H1, dropping roughly 4,600 to approximately 15,300. That figure sits well below readings from other trackers: Santiment data showed daily active addresses climbing from approximately 23,000 to more than 39,500 in the final weeks of June, a 71.7% increase. The gap reflects different methodologies and definitions, and readers should treat any single data point as one part of a broader picture rather than a definitive read on network health.
What is clearer is the directional shift across H1. Activity had been softening from the 2025 peak, but network users sending and receiving assets on the XRP Ledger peaked at 43,000 on June 30, meaning the half closed on a recovery, not a slide. Separately, Messari's Q4 2025 State of XRP Ledger report recorded average daily senders falling 15.4% quarter-on-quarter from 25,300 to 21,700, a figure from an earlier period that illustrates the broader softening trend rather than H1 2026 conditions specifically.
A Network Accumulating in SilenceThe counterpoint to cooling activity is the ledger's structural growth. Total wallets on the XRP Ledger surged in H1, with the network adding roughly 501,000 new accounts and nearing 8 million all-time. Approximately 7.85 million XRP wallet addresses had been activated on the ledger as of early 2026, according to XRPScan. The ledger had surpassed 7.85 million activated addresses, up from around 4.5 million in 2023 and nearly 6 million in late 2024, roughly 30% wallet growth in just over a year, driven largely by regulatory clarity and the launch of spot XRP ETFs.
Fewer addresses are actively transacting, but more wallets are being created and holding. When wallet creation outpaces transaction volume, it can reflect organic accumulation, but it can equally signal a network idling between catalysts. The bearish case centres on the disconnect between XRP's market capitalisation and on-chain utility: transaction fees generated on the ledger remain minimal relative to the asset's total valuation, suggesting price is still driven more by sentiment than organic usage. On the other hand, the divergence between network activity and token price has caught the attention of market analysts, who say it could indicate renewed accumulation ahead of a potential recovery.
For now, the on-chain data presents a clear split. The question is whether the wall of new wallets represents patient holders waiting for a catalyst, or simply a ledger growing while trading activity slowly cools.
Sources:
Messari: State of XRP Ledger Q4 2025
CoinGecko: XRP Live Price and Market Data
Wealthier Today: XRP Ledger Sees 71% Network Surge, Active Addresses Recover
The number of commercial transactions executed solely by artificial intelligence systems on the XRP Ledger has surpassed 1 million, marking a significant milestone for crypto-enabled machine economies. Latest on-chain data shows this surge in activity via the x402 protocol is no longer just an experimental phase. The threshold became clear following the launch of the XRPL AI Hub, a joint initiative by t54 and the XRP Ledger Foundation.
Bulk of trading volume concentrated in three infrastructure leadersAccording to records, there are currently 121 active sellers involved in AI-driven trades on the network. However, more than 77% of the over 1 million transactions to date have been concentrated in just three major infrastructure providers. Heurist Mesh leads with 404,091 transactions, followed by LucyOS with 367,733, and AskSurf with 23,076 transactions recorded.
Heurist Mesh operates as a decentralized computing network where AI agents can rent GPU power from each other on a minute-by-minute basis to run models. LucyOS functions as an AI-focused operating system, facilitating service exchanges and task coordination among autonomous bots. AskSurf provides a smart search service that enables real-time acquisition of structured data. The XRP Ledger Foundation, a non-profit organization, aims to foster the ongoing development of the XRP Ledger network.
PlatformTransactionsCore Use CaseHeurist Mesh404,091GPU leasingLucyOS367,733Bot-to-bot service and task coordinationAskSurf23,076Real-time structured data acquisitionThe remaining transaction traffic is spread across dozens of wallets, indicating a broader and more distributed agent activity. With an average of around 2,400 transactions per address, it suggests autonomous AI agents are now engaging with the network more routinely and at greater scale.
Key features of the XRPL architectureThe x402 integration developed by t54 has eliminated the need for human intervention in payments and settlement chains. As a result, software agents now manage digital balances directly, without relying on conventional tools such as bank cards.
Mini glossary: The x402 protocol is designed to enable software and AI agents to pay for and access online services directly. With this model, machines can transact with each other over the internet without needing intermediary payment layers.
Vet, a member of the XRPL Foundation, emphasized that the XRP Ledger architecture robustly meets the needs of the emerging autonomous AI economy. According to Vet, while other blockchains can experience unpredictable fee spikes during network congestion, the XRPL’s fixed and very low fee structure allows developers to reliably calculate operating costs for AI applications.
The network further stands out for its rapid settlement times, global liquidity of XRP, and a built-in decentralized exchange that allows for the automatic conversion of assets around the clock. Together, these elements are shaping fresh perspectives on the practical uses of both XRP and Ripple USD.
Reactions to passing the 1 million transaction markVet, a member of the XRPL Foundation, underscored that the XRP Ledger’s architecture is well positioned to fulfill the requirements of an autonomous agent economy, particularly by providing consistently low transaction costs that enable developers to anticipate operating expenses.
Commenting on the growth trajectory, Chandler Feng, co-founder of t54, observed that progress was slow for a lengthy period before suddenly accelerating past the 1 million trade threshold.
Reaching the 1 million transaction milestone stands as a key indicator that the intersection of AI and blockchain infrastructures is transitioning from potential to tangible application. The fact that these commercial transactions now occur directly between software agents signals that the XRP Ledger is taking on a more visible and functional role in the next generation of machine-to-machine economic activity.
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.
TLDR: The XRP Ledger AI Hub has launched as a new discovery point for AI builders, agents, services, merchants, and x402 payment activity on XRPL. The XRP Ledger has surpassed 1 million agentic payments, showing rising machine-driven settlement activity across AI-linked services. XRP price remains under pressure near $1.06, with sellers still controlling momentum below major daily moving averages. Weak ETF flows, lower active addresses, and declining futures interest show that market demand has not matched the network milestone yet. The XRP Ledger AI Hub has gone live as XRPL records a major milestone in AI-linked blockchain payments. t54.ai announced the platform as a single destination for AI agents, developer tools, payment services, and merchants building on the network.
The launch comes as the XRP Ledger Foundation says XRPL has surpassed 1 million agentic payments through the x402 protocol. The milestone adds a fresh utility narrative for XRP and RLUSD, although XRP price action remains weak near $1.06.
XRP is trading below $1.10 after four straight days of losses. Muted ETF flows, weaker active addresses, and lower futures demand continue to weigh on near-term sentiment.
XRP Ledger AI Hub Opens New Door For AI Builders The XRP Ledger AI Hub is designed to help developers track what is already live across the XRPL AI ecosystem. It starts with three core areas covering x402 activity, developer resources, and a directory of AI projects.
The index section tracks live x402 payment activity on the network. The developer section includes docs, SDKs, repositories, and other resources. Meanwhile, the directory highlights AI projects, agents, services, and merchants using XRPL rails.
The launch follows Ripple’s XRP Ledger AI Starter Kit, which introduced tools for agentic payments. The kit supports x402 payments using XRP and RLUSD, allowing AI agents to pay for APIs, compute, and inference services.
That structure matters as AI agents need fast, low-cost, and predictable settlement. XRPL offers short settlement times and fixed-style transaction costs, which can help software agents operate without manual approval loops.
The latest activity also points to deeper merchant adoption. Reports show 121 active merchants are now recorded, with Heurist Mesh, LucyOS, and AskSurf accounting for much of the transaction volume.
XRP Price Stays Weak Despite Agentic Payments Milestone Nevertheless, the XRP Ledger AI Hub launch has not changed the short-term XRP price trend. XRP remains below key moving averages, keeping the market structure under pressure.
The 50-day EMA sits near $1.18, while the 100-day EMA is around $1.28. The 200-day EMA near $1.49 remains a wider resistance zone for any stronger recovery attempt.
Source: TradingView On the downside, traders are watching support near $1.05 and $1.02. A break below this range could expose XRP to another wave of selling, especially if broader crypto sentiment weakens.
On-chain activity also shows caution. Active addresses recently dropped to about 14,500 from nearly 31,000 a day earlier, after peaking near 43,000 on June 30.
ETF activity has also slowed, with no recorded spot XRP ETF flows on Monday and Tuesday. Cumulative inflows still stand near $1.49 billion, but fresh demand remains limited.
Futures data adds to the softer picture. Open interest has slipped from late-June levels, showing weaker speculative appetite as XRP struggles below resistance.
The split between network utility and price action is now central to XRP’s next move. Agentic payments may support a longer-term XRPL adoption story, but traders still need a stronger price reaction above $1.18.
Ripple has signed a five-year sponsorship deal with the University of Kansas, marking a significant collaboration between the cryptocurrency industry and college athletics. Under the agreement, the XRP logo will feature on the jerseys of the Kansas Jayhawks’ football and basketball teams, with plans to extend the branding to uniforms across other athletic departments within the university.
A milestone partnership for college sports and cryptoThis partnership represents the first time a cryptocurrency company has joined forces with a major NCAA Division 1 athletic program. The groundbreaking deal is expected to bring the XRP brand to a broad audience and enhance the visibility of the cryptocurrency sector within mainstream sports culture.
Brad Garlinghouse emphasized that this agreement is deeply personal, noting that XRP will be the first cryptocurrency to feature on the uniforms of his alma mater’s prestigious athletic program.
Brad Garlinghouse, CEO of Ripple, hails from Topeka, Kansas, and is an alumnus of the University of Kansas where he studied economics. For Garlinghouse, the sponsorship goes beyond business interests, carrying significant personal meaning tied to his own academic and regional roots.
Supporting education and technology initiativesAlongside the sponsorship, Ripple will fund new programs focused on the academic and financial development of university athletes. These initiatives are slated to emphasize finance and technology education. The company aims for a broad impact, opening access not only to student-athletes but also to the greater campus community.
Glossary: An XRP Ledger validator is a server that verifies transactions and helps maintain consistency in the network’s ledger. Universities and institutions can contribute technically to the network by operating such validators.
The University of Kansas is no stranger to the XRP ecosystem. Its School of Engineering already runs an official XRP Ledger validator. This underscores that the partnership is not just for marketing but is also built upon existing technical ties between the institution and the cryptocurrency’s infrastructure.
Market reaction remains subduedDespite the high-profile sponsorship deal, the price of XRP declined by more than 4%. However, derivatives market data reveals that speculative interest in XRP futures increased modestly in the hours following the announcement, with open interest rising by around 1%.
Data shows that open interest in XRP futures increased slightly after the sponsorship announcement.
While the XRP price dropped and derivatives activity saw a limited uptick, investor attitudes suggest that the news was viewed as important for brand exposure but did not sway short-term trading sentiment.
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 has surpassed 1 million AI-driven payments through the x402 protocol as Ripple-backed t54.ai has launched a dedicated AI Hub for developers, payment services, and autonomous agents building on the network.
Summary
XRP Ledger has surpassed 1 million AI-powered payments through the x402 protocol. Ripple-backed t54.ai has launched the XRPL AI Hub for developers, AI agents, and payment services. The announcements come as over 55% of trusted validators have adopted the xrpld v3.2.0 upgrade. According to a post on X from Ripple-backed t54.ai, the new XRPL AI Hub brings together AI projects, agents, developer tools, payment services, and technical resources into a single platform designed to help users discover and build applications on the XRP Ledger. The company said the hub was launched with support from Ripple developers and the XRP Ledger Foundation.
T54.ai explained that the platform is organized into three main sections. The first tracks live x402 payment activity on the XRP Ledger, while the second provides documentation, software development kits, code repositories, and other developer resources.
A third directory lists AI agents, merchants, services, and projects already operating on the network, allowing builders to identify existing infrastructure before launching new applications.
AI infrastructure on XRPL continues to expand The launch follows Ripple’s rollout of the XRP Ledger AI Starter Kit several weeks ago, which introduced tools allowing AI agents to send and receive payments using XRP and RLUSD. That release also added support for XRPL within the x402 protocol, enabling automated machine-to-machine payments on the network.
Separately, the XRP Ledger Foundation announced on X that the network has processed more than 1 million agentic payments through x402. While sharing the milestone, the Foundation also welcomed the launch of the XRPL AI Hub, describing it as a central ecosystem platform for developers, users, and community participants working with AI applications on the ledger.
Commenting on the achievement, XRPL validator Vet said he was not surprised by the payment milestone. According to Vet, the XRP Ledger’s architecture is well suited for AI-based payment systems because it combines low transaction costs, predictable fees, XRP’s global liquidity, and a built-in decentralized exchange that enables continuous asset swaps without centralized controls.
Validator upgrade continues toward activation The AI-related announcements come as the XRP Ledger continues progressing toward another network upgrade. As crypto.news reported on July 7, more than 55% of trusted validators have already upgraded to xrpld v3.2.0, moving the amendment process closer to activation.
According to XRP Ledger Explorer data cited in the report, 84 trusted validators, representing 55.63% of the validator set, are currently running xrpld v3.2.0, while 353 network nodes, or 42.12% of all nodes, have installed the latest software. Version 3.1.3 remains active on 58 trusted validators and 440 nodes.
Under the XRP Ledger’s governance rules, protocol amendments require approval from more than 80% of trusted validators for two consecutive weeks before they become active. Based on the current validator distribution, roughly another quarter of the trusted validator set must migrate to the latest version before the upgrade can advance toward activation.
The xrpld v3.2.0 release introduces infrastructure updates, bug fixes, and developer improvements across the network. It also implements the XLS-0095 proposal, officially renaming the ledger’s core server software from rippled to xrpld, a change intended to align the software’s identity more closely with the XRP Ledger ecosystem.
Ripple’s landmark five-year sports sponsorship with the University of Kansas may have delighted XRP enthusiasts, but not everyone within the cryptocurrency community is buying the hype.
Zach Rynes, who is widely known as the Chainlink community lead, took to social media to slam what he perceives as a rather desperate marketing stunt.
He believes that there is a disconnect between Ripple’s corporate actions and the retail investors holding its native token.
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As reported by U.Today, Ripple recently announced that the XRP logo will be prominently featured on the uniforms of the Kansas Jayhawks' football and basketball programs.
In response to the announcement, Ripple CEO Brad Garlinghouse celebrated it as a "rare moment where my professional and personal worlds collide."
Sponsoring sports vs. selling softwareAccording to Rynes, a sports marketing campaign focused on retail investors would be entirely illogical for a company that ostensibly offers payments software to institutions.
"Sponsoring a college sports program with the XRP logo on the jersey doesn’t make much sense if you think Ripple’s primary business is selling financial technology to banks," Rynes asserted.
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Instead, the Chainlink community lead posited that the marketing push is meant to appease the retail buyers of the "bank-themed meme coin." "But it makes perfect sense when you understand Ripple is really in the business of selling a premined, bank-themed memecoin to retail," he stated.
Rynes further claims that Ripple uses its massive escrow holdings of XRP to enrich its internal equity holders.
According to Rynes, Ripple executes these "coins they sell to fund corporate acquisitions and equity buybacks of Ripple Labs stock, building enterprise value for the sole benefit of shareholders at the direct expense of token holders."
He further claimed that the firm’s software delivery and other operational units pale in comparison to the revenue generated by unloading tokens onto the open market. "Ripple’s private round valuations are tied to the treasury value of their zero cost basis XRP stash and their ability to extract from it for shareholders, every other business line is a rounding error in comparison," Rynes added.
At the same time, some XRP fans pushed back against the critique by pointing out that LINK is currently sitting in 20th place on CoinMarketCap after previously being viewed as one of the top altcoin competitors.
Haven’t heard a Zach rant against XRP since Link was in 11th spot on market cap on its way to thè flippening https://t.co/Fbin0mH6BB
Crypto Asset Service Provider (CASP) license approval in Luxembourg completes Ripple’s Markets in Crypto-Assets Regulation (MiCA) requirements, making it fully compliant for cryptoasset services across the European Economic Area
Luxembourg — 6 July 2026 – Ripple, the leading provider of blockchain-based enterprise solutions across traditional and digital finance, today announced it has received authorisation of its Crypto Asset Service Provider (CASP) license from Luxembourg’s Commission de Surveillance du Secteur Financier (CSSF). The authorisation follows the preliminary approval announced in June 2026 and confirms Ripple as fully MiCA-compliant, with its end-to-end regulated crypto payments product now available to financial institutions, corporates and businesses across all 30 countries of the European Economic Area.
“This CASP authorisation means Ripple enters the post-transitional MiCA era fully compliant and ready to scale,” said Cassie Craddock, Managing Director, UK & Europe at Ripple. “The institutions we work with across Europe are looking to build their digital assets services alongside regulated partners, and Ripple is licensed and ready to meet that demand.”
Alongside its EU EMI license, Ripple’s CASP approval makes it one of a small number of digital asset firms to have full authorisation under MiCA, adding to a global portfolio of more than 75 regulatory licenses.
About Ripple
Founded in 2012, Ripple is the leading provider of blockchain-based enterprise solutions across traditional and digital finance. Its solutions span global payments, custody, liquidity, and treasury management, serving as a one-stop shop for moving, storing, exchanging, and managing value. Ripple's stablecoin, RLUSD, and the cryptocurrency XRP underpinning these solutions allow Ripple and its customers to shape the modern financial system.
Bitcoin gave up its gains from the previous two sessions as escalating geopolitical tensions between the U.S. and Iran sparked a broader risk-off move across cryptocurrency markets.
Notable Statistics:
Coinglass data shows 128,517 traders were liquidated in the past 24 hours for $369.27 million. SoSoValue data shows net inflows of $21.4 million from spot Bitcoin ETFs on Tuesday. Spot Ethereum ETFs saw net inflows of $26.9 million. In the past 24 hours, top losers include Jupiter, Aerodrome Finance and Pi. Notable Developments:
Trader Notes:
Analyst Kevin expects Bitcoin to sweep long liquidity between current levels and $44,000 during the third phase of the bear market.
He plans to aggressively accumulate BTC if leveraged long positions are liquidated and also take additional profits on the short position initiated at $79,000.
Trader KillaXBT says sentiment between bulls and bears remains surprisingly balanced.
He believes bears have roughly two months to drive Bitcoin lower in line with the four-year cycle.
This will potentially create what he sees as the final opportunity to buy BTC in the $50,000 range before a longer-term recovery.
Trader Jelle noted Bitcoin has formed a weekly bullish divergence on both the regular RSI and stochastic RSI, with the latter beginning to turn higher.
These are signs that selling pressure is weakening and the setup reinforces the strategy of continuing to dollar-cost average into Bitcoin while accumulating more.
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XRP remains under pressure across both the USDT and BTC pairs, with sellers continuing to control the broader trend despite several short-lived recovery attempts. While the USDT chart shows buyers defending an important support area, the XRP/BTC pair continues to trade near multi-month lows, highlighting the token’s persistent relative weakness against the market leader.
Ripple Price Analysis: The USDT Pair On the daily timeframe, XRP continues to trade inside a well-defined descending channel, keeping the broader market structure firmly bearish. It remains below the 100-day and 200-day moving averages, both of which are sloping lower and acting as dynamic resistance above $1.25. This alignment suggests that momentum still favors sellers unless a meaningful trend reversal develops.
After losing the $1.25 level in early June, XRP found demand around the critical $1 region, where buyers have repeatedly stepped in to prevent further downside. This zone has now become the most important support to monitor. As long as it holds, the market could continue forming a short-term base.
On the upside, the first major resistance sits around $1.25. As mentioned earlier, this area also coincides with the descending 100-day moving average and the higher boundary of the channel, making it a significant hurdle for any sustained recovery. A successful breakout above this region would expose the 200-day moving average around $1.45, while losing the $1 support could accelerate another leg lower toward the channel’s lower trendline around $0.80.
Meanwhile, the RSI has been making higher lows despite the price making lower lows near $1, creating a developing bullish divergence. Although this does not confirm a reversal on its own, it suggests that bearish momentum might be exhausted and that buyers could attempt another recovery if resistance levels begin to weaken.
The BTC Pair Against Bitcoin, XRP continues to paint a weaker technical picture. Again, the pair remains below both major moving averages, which continue to trend lower and reinforce the long-term bearish structure.
After several weeks of sideways trading, XRPBTC is once again testing the key horizontal support around 1,700 sats. This level has acted as the floor for the recent consolidation, and another breakdown attempt is now underway. A confirmed daily close below 1,700 sats would likely invalidate the current range and increase the probability of an extension toward the next major demand zone around 1,450 to 1,500 sats.
To regain bullish momentum, buyers first need to reclaim the 1,850 sats resistance area, which also aligns closely with the declining 100-day moving average. Until then, every rally continues to appear corrective within the broader downtrend, which could lead to more depreciation for XRP against Bitcoin.
The rollout of version 3.2.0 server software is gaining traction on the XRP Ledger network, a move aimed at reducing operational costs and boosting stability for enterprise use cases. Yet, despite the increased adoption of the new version, most nodes across the network are still running the older v3.1.3 release. The real deciding factor for network upgrades remains the choices made by validators, rather than the sheer number of upgraded nodes.
Threshold crossed among validatorsAccording to XRPSCAN data, there are approximately 833 active nodes on the XRP Ledger network. While about 43 percent of these nodes have migrated to v3.2.0, 51 percent still operate on v3.1.3. Nevertheless, an impressive 31 out of 35 validators on the default Unique Node List (UNL) have already upgraded to v3.2.0, representing a substantial 89 percent adoption rate among this crucial group.
The Unique Node List, often abbreviated as UNL, designates the trusted set of validators the XRP Ledger relies on for consensus. For any new software version or protocol amendment to go live, over 80 percent of these validators must continuously support the change for two straight weeks.
Whether or not an upgrade is completed on the XRP Ledger is determined not by the total node count, but by support among validators on the default UNL.
This situation indicates that even if the broader network is slower to adopt the new update, the entities with decision-making authority are largely on board. Thus, while the required technical threshold has been surpassed, sustained support over the designated period is still necessary to finalize the upgrade process.
Metricv3.2.0v3.1.3Active network nodes43%51%Default UNL validators31/35, approx. 89%4/35Activation threshold80%Below thresholdSecurity amendment gets a separate voteA related change known as fixCleanup3_2_0, which comes with the v3.2.0 package, is currently being voted on separately via on-chain governance. This proposal brings a collection of security improvements and bug fixes focused on newer features like single-asset escrows, permissioned decentralized exchanges, multipurpose tokens, and the network’s lending protocol.
Mini glossary: The UNL is the trusted list of validators that serve as the reference for transaction approval on the XRP Ledger. MPT refers to a token standard developed on the XRP Ledger that supports multiple use cases.
The lending protocol stands out by enabling users to secure loans against pooled funds directly on-chain. The fixCleanup3_2_0 update also introduces internal controls to prevent deleted accounts from leaving behind residual data.
Upgrading a validator to the new software is not the same as approving the fixCleanup3_2_0 amendment—the adoption rate for the software is higher than that for the amendment itself.
Ripple votes in support of the amendmentRipple, the payments firm founded by the creators of the XRP Ledger, cast its vote in favor of the fixCleanup3_2_0 amendment. Despite this high-profile backing, support for the amendment still trails behind the level of adoption seen for the v3.2.0 software upgrade.
Once the amendment is activated, any validators that fail to upgrade could find themselves classified as amendment blocked by the network. In this scenario, these validators risk losing access to the distributed ledger entirely.
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’s recent v3.2.0 upgrade has been adopted by 89% of its trusted validators, yet only 43% of all active nodes have followed suit, according to a report from CoinDesk. The upgrade, which includes infrastructure improvements and a rebranding of the core server software to “xrpld,” requires an 80% quorum of trusted validators to activate. Meanwhile, a bundled security amendment remains in the voting phase, needing 80% UNL support to proceed. This situation suggests a gradual yet incomplete transition to the upgraded network, raising questions about potential operational risks for nodes and exchanges that have not yet updated.
Market participants appear to view the partial adoption of the upgrade as consistent with positive momentum for XRP, suggesting potential impacts on price predictions. The current market data indicates a mixed outlook for XRP reaching its target prices in July, with only a small percentage of market pricing reflecting the likelihood of achieving notable price milestones. The market’s interpretation of these developments will likely shape future pricing scenarios in the coming weeks.
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The XRP price prediction market for July shows varied confidence levels in reaching different price points. For instance, the probability of XRP reaching $3.00 remains low at 0%, while a potential move to $1.40 is priced at 8% YES. This disparity reflects the current uncertainty and market participants’ cautious stance towards significant price jumps in the short term.
Key Takeaways The adoption of the XRP Ledger’s v3.2.0 upgrade appears consistent with supportive indicators for XRP, yet full activation remains pending. Market pricing suggests a low likelihood of XRP reaching the $3.00 target in July, with higher confidence in lower price targets. The ongoing security amendment vote could indicate significant changes in market sentiment once resolved. What to Watch Watch for the completion of the security amendment vote, as achieving the necessary 80% UNL support could influence market perceptions and pricing. Additionally, attention should be given to any announcements from key Ripple figures or analysts that might affect confidence levels in XRP’s ability to reach its target prices. The evolving adoption rate among active nodes will also be crucial in assessing potential operational risks and network stability.
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Term Structure
Contract Odds Δ since publish Volume 24h August 1 2026 0.4% — — View market → August 1 2026 2.6% — — View market → August 1 2026 0.9% — — View market → August 1 2026 0.2% — — View market → August 1 2026 0.4% — — View market → August 1 2026 8% — — View market →
Portfolio manager and founder of The Lead-Lag Report, Michael Gayed, argues that a new global liquidity crisis is taking shape, with Tokyo emerging as a potential epicenter. Gayed highlights that the interconnections between the yen, gold, oil, XRP, and US Treasury bonds are becoming increasingly clear, suggesting a shifting landscape for global markets.
The mounting pressure on the yen and oilAccording to Gayed, the primary risk at hand is a currency crisis originating in Asia. For years, investors have borrowed yen at low interest rates to invest in US equities. However, the Bank of Japan’s recent moves to raise interest rates in support of the yen may quickly unwind these leveraged trades, intensifying selling pressure in the markets.
Mini glossary: A carry trade involves borrowing in a low-yielding currency to invest in higher-yielding assets. A reverse carry trade occurs when worsening financial conditions force investors to rapidly unwind those positions, causing sharp volatility in markets.
Another factor weighing on the situation is the rise in oil prices. As commodity costs surge against the yen, Japan’s import-dependent economy faces additional strain. Gayed believes Tokyo may be forced to sell US Treasury bonds more aggressively to cover its funding needs—placing the Federal Reserve in a challenging dilemma.
Michael Gayed notes that if systemic pressure escalates, regulators may prioritize protecting the bond market, which could increase the risk of a steeper correction in equities.
US Treasuries take priority amid global stressGayed maintains that US authorities are unlikely to allow a major disruption in their government debt market. He suggests that policymakers could tolerate weaker equity markets to support US bonds. This outlook also aligns with projections that defensive sectors, such as utilities and real estate investment trusts, will likely outperform the broader market through July 2026.
In Gayed’s assessment, traditional safe havens like gold and long-duration US Treasuries could stand out during panic phases. This reflects an expectation of capital shifting away from growth and risk assets toward more defensive instruments.
Spotlight on XRP as an alternativeGayed’s mention of XRP alongside gold and oil has drawn attention from the cryptocurrency community. Uniquely, the analyst approaches XRP not as a blockchain technology but as a conduit for international capital flows and global liquidity movements. His focus is thus less on technology and more on whether capital seeking safety during stress might turn to alternative channels like XRP.
Gayed foresees that, in the event of intense currency market volatility, XRP could serve as an alternative bridge for risk-averse, international capital flows.
Should turmoil in the FX markets deepen, Gayed believes tokens like XRP may increasingly facilitate rapid capital movements. However, whether this scenario materializes depends largely on ongoing pressures facing the yen and continued increases in oil costs.
At this stage, Gayed suggests that investors should shift their attention away from Wall Street indices, focusing instead on defensive assets linked to Tokyo and Washington. He expects that market direction will become clearer as a new equilibrium emerges, particularly around the yen and US Treasuries.
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 cryptocurrency market experienced a sharp selloff on Wednesday after tensions over geopolitical matters escalated. The uncertainty comes as U.S. President Donald Trump said that the memorandum of understanding with Iran is now “over.” With this, Bitcoin fell below the $62,000 mark, leading the crypto market downturn. This causing nearly $450 million worth of leveraged liquidations in the market.
Crypto Market Liquidations Surge Amid US-Iran War Data from CoinGlass shows that over the last 24 hours, 145,221 traders were liquidated, totaling $449.63 million in liquidations. The losses at $343.43 million were mainly on the long side with $106.20 million being on the short side. Binance had the largest liquidation, with a $7.24 million ETHUSDT position being liquidated.
The most liquidated cryptocurrencies were Bitcoin with $99.90 million and Ethereum with $90.67 million. Other cryptocurrencies experienced a collective $60.83 million in liquidations, and Solana had $24.19 million in liquidations. Selling activity also was widespread throughout the market, with XRP seeing more than $9 million in liquidated positions.
This plunge in the market followed a sign that the diplomatic agreement between Washington and Tehran has failed. Speaking at the NATO summit, Trump said, “To me, I think it’s over. I don’t want to deal with them anymore.” He also described further negotiations as “just a waste of time dealing with them.”
Trump repeated that Iran would never get a nuclear weapon, but said that the negotiators were still eager to talk but “they have to come back” to me.
BTC Under Pressure With Fresh US-Iran Strikes Trump’s comments came on the heels of a new escalation in the Middle East. The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, Iran’s tough force, has announced it had responded to a series of U.S. strikes, ratcheted up sanctions on Iran’s export of oil and reacted to attacks on ships in the Strait of Hormuz by launching its own attacks on Washington’s military targets in Bahrain and Kuwait.
Geopolitical risks continued to drive oil prices up and weighed on risk assets such as crypto. Hence, Bitcoin price fell below $62,000 amid the ongoing US-Iran conflict.
In separate news, Israel’s Ynet news reported that U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth had cancelled his trip to Israel when tensions were ratcheting up in the region. This also led to a negative sentiment in the crypto market as geopolitical tensions continue.
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Growth in the number of users on the XRP Ledger network has become increasingly apparent thanks to on-chain data. James Rule XRP, a creator of crypto education content, revealed that wallets created in 2024 and 2025 now account for nearly 40% of all wallets on the network. This highlights a period of strong and steady growth for the XRP Ledger over the last two years.
Wallet statistics highlight user adoptionUnlike price volatility, the number of new wallets provides a more robust indicator of long-term network adoption. Each new wallet represents either a new user or institution joining the XRP ecosystem. This participation ranges from holding the asset and processing payments to issuing tokens, developing decentralized applications, or engaging in tokenization activities.
With around 40% of XRP wallets established in just 2024 and 2025, it is clear that network growth is driven by more than short-lived price movements, reflecting deeper adoption.
While multiple wallets can belong to the same user and therefore wallet numbers may not exactly mirror unique users, the sheer magnitude of the increase points to broadening interest across the network. Notably, this expansion comes after a protracted period of regulatory uncertainty for Ripple and XRP in the United States.
Corporate engagement supports network expansionThis period of rapid growth has coincided with higher institutional interest. Made in USA Inc., a US-based technology firm, recently made a significant investment by acquiring a complete technology stack for the XRP Ledger, affirming its commitment to the network. The move underscores the XRP Ledger’s emerging role as a platform for enterprise blockchain solutions. Made in USA Inc. is recognized for its focus on technology-driven initiatives in the US market.
Mini glossary: XRPL, or XRP Ledger, is an open-source blockchain network tailored for payments and asset transfers. Tokenization refers to representing physical or digital assets on a blockchain.
This investment suggests that companies are pivoting from short-term trading to real-world use cases. The fact that activity on the network is being driven by infrastructure investment, not just market speculation, signals the foundation for a new phase of growth for the XRP Ledger.
Rising demand in Japan stands outA similar upward trend is being observed internationally. Japan’s SBI VC Trade, operating under the SBI Holdings umbrella, has announced that its customer accounts have surpassed 2 million. As a digital asset trading platform, SBI VC Trade’s customer milestone and its XRP and Bitcoin reward programs signal sustained interest in digital assets.
SBI VC Trade’s milestone of more than 2 million customer accounts—alongside growing institutional investment in the XRP Ledger—shows that the network’s use is expanding beyond speculative trading.
With the Japanese yen under pressure, investors’ pivot toward alternative assets is supporting demand for digital currencies. The combination of rising wallet numbers, increased institutional investment, and broader participation raises expectations that on-chain volume, liquidity, and developer activity in the XRP Ledger network may continue to strengthen over time.
For years, discussion around XRP centered largely on regulatory matters and price movements. Now, the latest data show a growing focus on measurable user adoption. The surge in new wallets over the past two years suggests that the XRP Ledger could be entering a fresh phase of expansion.
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.
SBI VC Trade reported rising institutional demand for BTC and XRP as Japanese firms adjust treasury strategies amid continued yen weakness.
Corporate demand for Bitcoin and XRP is increasing in Japan as a weaker yen prompts companies to diversify their treasury holdings, according to crypto exchange SBI VC Trade.
The crypto arm of Tokyo-based SBI Holdings said that this trend has driven demand for its corporate-focused services.
Corporate Crypto Demand SBI VC Trade announced that its total registered accounts surpassed 2 million as of July 6, 2026, having doubled from more than 1 million in 2025. The figure includes users across both its VCTRADE and BITPOINT services following the merger with fellow SBI Group company Bitpoint Japan in April 2026, which the exchange said further strengthened its service infrastructure.
It attributed its continued growth to several factors, including its focus on secure and regulated trading services, an expanded range of crypto investment products, and efforts to improve accessibility for both retail and institutional users. Beyond retail products, the company also observed growing interest from corporate clients through its “SBIVC for Prime” service, which was designed for businesses and large-scale investors.
SBI VC Trade said the service has gained particular traction as Japanese firms adjust their treasury strategies in response to the weaker yen by incorporating crypto assets into their reserves. It also reported increased adoption among companies using Bitcoin and XRP as part of shareholder benefit programs.
Meanwhile, stablecoins have also become a major part of the exchange’s expansion strategy. After becoming the first exchange in Japan to support USDC in March 2025, it added the yen-denominated trust-type stablecoin JPYSC and Ripple’s US dollar-pegged RLUSD in June 2026.
Funding Round SBI Holdings has remained one of Japan’s most active financial players in the crypto sector. It recently led a $76 million Series C funding round in US-based institutional crypto exchange EDX Markets.
You may also like: SpaceX Bitcoin Wallet Wakes Up With a Tiny Transaction: What’s Next? Oil Soars, Bitcoin Plunges as Trump Declares Iran MoU ‘Is Over’ Rapid Retail Mood Swings Signal Caution as BTC Retreats Amid Iran Strikes The latter said it will use the capital to expand internationally and develop new products for its institution-only trading platform, which separates trading, custody, and settlement to reduce counterparty risk.
XRP has slipped below a key short-term support near $1.10, with sellers regaining control as traders lock in profits after Ripple’s latest European regulatory win and macro risk sentiment weakens across global markets.
Summary
XRP has dropped below key support near $1.10 as profit-taking and long liquidations push the token toward $1. A descending channel, weakening RSI, bearish MACD setup, and dense liquidation zones reinforce downside risks. Ripple’s MiCA license and $4 billion in XRPL tokenized RWAs highlight long-term adoption despite near-term weakness. The token traded around $1.08 on Tuesday after falling from an intraday high near $1.18. The decline came shortly after Ripple secured a full Crypto-Asset Service Provider license from Luxembourg’s Commission de Surveillance du Secteur Financier under the European Union’s Markets in Crypto-Assets framework. Instead of extending the rally, the announcement triggered a classic sell-the-news reaction as traders booked gains following the regulatory milestone.
Fresh geopolitical tensions added pressure across risk assets. Reports of a tanker attack in the Strait of Hormuz, U.S. airstrikes on Iran, and the removal of Iranian oil sales waivers pushed crude oil prices more than 2.5% higher.
The move lifted Treasury yields and weighed on equities, particularly technology stocks, dragging major cryptocurrencies lower alongside traditional markets.
At the same time, derivatives positioning amplified the decline. CoinGlass liquidation data shows dense leverage clusters above $1.10 and another major concentration near $1.14, while the latest three-day liquidation heatmap now reveals comparatively thinner liquidity below the market.
XRP liquidation heatmap | Source: CoinGlass As long positions were forced out during Tuesday’s decline, XRP quickly slid toward the next support zone around $1.08, leaving the psychological $1.00 level as the next major downside magnet if sellers remain in control.
A separate on-chain development has highlighted continued institutional interest in the XRP Ledger despite the token’s weak price action. According to crypto commentator Whale Factor, tokenized real-world assets on the network have surpassed $4 billion after standing near $150 million a year ago.
“The crypto as a toy narrative is dead. Tokenized RWAs on the XRP Ledger just smashed through the $4 BILLION mark,” Whale Factor wrote on X.
The growth underscores expanding enterprise adoption of the network, although investors have largely treated it as a long-term fundamental story rather than a catalyst for immediate token demand.
Technical breakdown has exposed the $1 psychological support The daily chart shows XRP trading inside a descending channel that has capped every recovery attempt since May. The latest rejection occurred after the token failed to hold above the channel’s upper boundary before falling back toward the lower half of the pattern.
XRP daily price chart — July 8 | Source: crypto.news Momentum indicators have also weakened. The daily Relative Strength Index has slipped to around 42 after failing to reclaim the neutral 50 level, while the MACD histogram has begun printing smaller positive bars as the MACD line curls toward a bearish crossover. Together, those indicators suggest buying momentum has faded after last week’s rebound.
The Fibonacci retracement drawn from the May high to the June low also places XRP below the 78.6% retracement level near $1.13. Immediate support sits around $1.01-$1.02 near the channel floor, with a decisive break opening the door to a test of the psychological $1.00 level.
On the upside, bulls would first need to reclaim $1.13 before challenging resistance around $1.21, where the 61.8% Fibonacci level and previous supply zone converge.
The 4-hour chart presents a similar picture. Aroon Down has climbed to 100 while Aroon Up has retreated sharply, showing sellers currently dominate the short-term trend. Meanwhile, Chaikin Money Flow has remained only marginally above zero, suggesting capital inflows have weakened despite avoiding outright distribution.
XRP 4-hour price chart — July 8 | Source: crypto.news Macro risks could extend losses while a recovery requires reclaiming $1.13 Muted institutional participation has added another headwind. Spot XRP ETF flows have remained largely flat over recent sessions, while uncertainty surrounding the timing of the U.S. CLARITY Act continues to delay a key regulatory catalyst that many investors view as important for broader institutional adoption.
Further weakness in global equity markets or another spike in energy prices could accelerate risk aversion and increase pressure on altcoins. A daily close below the $1.01-$1.02 support area would strengthen the bearish case for a move toward $1.00 and potentially below it.
The downside outlook would weaken if buyers reclaim the $1.13 resistance zone and push XRP back above the descending channel’s upper trendline. Such a move would force short sellers to reassess positions and could shift attention toward the $1.21 resistance area, where the next major supply cluster remains concentrated.
Disclosure: This article does not represent investment advice. The content and materials featured on this page are for educational purposes only.
Ripple (XRP) price is down by 4.32% today, July 8, to trade at $1.07 at the time of writing. The ongoing drop comes as investors rush to sell off risk assets after President Donald Trump said that the ceasefire between the US and Iran is over.
The 4% drop in XRP price because of escalating geopolitical tensions has caused $8.61 million in long liquidations per Coinglass data. This is the highest long liquidation seen by XRP since June 25.
Risk Assets Tumble as Trump Calls End to US-Iran Ceasefire President Trump attended the NATO Summit in Ankara, and while there, he slammed Iran’s leaders and negotiators for not being truthful with the press about the negotiations that have taken place so far since the US and Iran signed a ceasefire deal on June 17.
“To me, I think it’s over. I don’t want to deal with them anymore. They’re scum… They’re led by sick people,” Trump said.
Trump’s statement comes after the US struck 80 targets in Iran on July 7 as a response to Iran attacking commercial ships at the Strait of Hormuz.
Trump has also reimposed oil sanctions on Iran. The oil sanctions had been removed on June 17 when the two countries agreed on a 60-day ceasefire that was to end on August 16.
The ongoing situation has pushed the price of oil to the June 24 high of $74. But while oil is rising, the price of XRP is dropping as traders become concerned that the geopolitical tensions are going to cause a sell-off across the crypto market.
XRP Price as Bears Defend 20-Day EMA Resistance The price of XRP has moved below the 20-day EMA of $1.11, suggesting that the short-term trend is favoring bears.
If the sell-off caused by the escalating geopolitical tensions continues, the price could drop to the June 30 low of $1.03.
The AO bars that have turned red suggest that bears have a good grip. Hence, XRP price could retest $1.03 if buyers remain hesitant. If XRP moves below the June 30 low of $1.03, it could retest the psychological support of $1.
Conversely, if the ongoing drop attracts buyers the same way that it did on July 1, and XRP closes above the 20-day EMA of $1.11. It will suggest that bears are losing their grip.
XRP/USDT: 1-day Chart (Source: TradingView) Closing above the 20-day EMA for three straight days could kickstart the next bullish leg, where the price could reclaim the July 4 high of $1.18.
Institutional Demand Fades Despite Regulatory Win CoinGape reported that Ripple obtained a license in Luxembourg on July 5 that enabled it to become fully compliant with Europe’s MiCA laws.
But this regulatory win has not increased demand for XRP by institutions because spot XRP ETFs had zero inflows on July 6 and July 7 as price dropped.
XRP ETF Flows Data from the CME also shows that XRP futures products had 635 contracts traded on July 7. These are the lowest volume numbers that the XRP futures have seen since June 12.
The lack of inflows to XRP ETFs and weak demand for XRP futures on the CME suggest that institutional investors are hesitating to buy XRP, as the situation between the US and Iran escalates.
Ripple (XRP) continues to trade under heavy selling, trading below $1.10 at the time of writing on Wednesday. The remittance token marks four consecutive days of declines, weighed down by geopolitical tensions and significantly low risk appetite.
Capital outflows, weak on-chain activity keep XRP under pressureXRP spot Exchange-Traded Funds (ETFs) activity remained muted on Tuesday and Monday, with no flows recorded, according to SoSoValue data. This muted activity suggests a withdrawal of demand rather than a complete loss of conviction in the digital asset. However, capital inflows remain pivotal in absorbing selling pressure and sustaining recoveries.
Cumulative inflows total $1.49 billion, with net assets under management at $1.02 billion, reinforcing investor long-term conviction in XRP.
XRP ETF flows | Source : SoSoValueOn-chain activity is weakening, according to Santiment’s data, showing active addresses at 14,500 on Wednesday, down from roughly 31,000 the day before. A wider scope cements the decline, given that network users sending and receiving assets on the XRP Ledger (XRPL) peaked at 43,000 on June 30. If sustained, the low on-chain activity would continue to weigh on demand, further limiting XRP’s upside.
XRP Active Addresses | Source: SantimentRetail demand for XRP is similarly suppressed, as futures Open Interest (OI) steadies at 213 billion XRP on Wednesday, up only marginally from 2.12 billion XRP the previous day. Nonetheless, CoinGlass data shows a gradual but sustained drop from 2.38 billion XRP on June 23, undermining investor appetite.
XRP Futures OI | Source: CoinGlassPrice analysis: XRP eyes short-term support at $1.05XRP trades at $1.08, extending a corrective phase below its key Exponential Moving Averages. The 50-day EMA at $1.18, together with the 100-day EMA at $1.28 and the 200-day EMA at $1.49, sits overhead and suggests a capped, bearish near-term bias while price remains under this layered resistance zone.
The Moving Average Convergence Divergence (MACD) indicator edges in positive territory and hints at modest bullish momentum that has yet to challenge the dominant overhead structure on the daily chart. At the same time, Relative Strength Index (RSI) around 42 reinforces a consolidative tone rather than an immediate recovery.
XRP/USDT daily chartOn the topside, initial resistance lies at the 50-day EMA around $1.18, and a sustained move above this level would expose the next barrier at the 100-day EMA near $1.28 before the broader bearish framework defined by the 200-day EMA at $1.49 comes into view. Looking down, the first notable support emerges at the Parabolic SAR level around $1.02, where a break lower would likely revive selling pressure and open the door to further declines. On the other hand, a defensive hold above this marker would allow bulls to keep probing the clustered EMA resistance overhead.
(The technical analysis of this story was written with the help of an AI tool. Know more.)
Open Interest, funding rate FAQs Higher Open Interest is associated with higher liquidity and new capital inflow to the market. This is considered the equivalent of increase in efficiency and the ongoing trend continues. When Open Interest decreases, it is considered a sign of liquidation in the market, investors are leaving and the overall demand for an asset is on a decline, fueling a bearish sentiment among investors.
Funding fees bridge the difference between spot prices and prices of futures contracts of an asset by increasing liquidation risks faced by traders. A consistently high and positive funding rate implies there is a bullish sentiment among market participants and there is an expectation of a price hike. A consistently negative funding rate for an asset implies a bearish sentiment, indicating that traders expect the cryptocurrency’s price to fall and a bearish trend reversal is likely to occur.
Ripple has announced a partnership between its cryptocurrency, XRP, and Kansas Athletics, marking the first instance of a crypto brand sponsorship on a major college athletics uniform. This strategic move underscores the increasing integration of crypto brands into NCAA athletics, a trend that began with FTX’s crypto-based sponsorships in 2021. While XRP is currently near $1.12, reflecting a 20% decline from June levels, analysts have projected a potential price range of $1.15 to $1.32 by August 2026. The partnership may suggest increased visibility and adoption for XRP, potentially impacting its market performance.
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Key Takeaways Ripple’s new partnership with Kansas Athletics appears to indicate further integration of cryptocurrency brands into collegiate sports. Market pricing suggests participants view this development as potentially supportive of increased XRP adoption and visibility. Current XRP pricing reflects a decline, yet future projections suggest a possible recovery influenced by strategic partnerships like this one. What to Watch Markets will likely monitor how this partnership influences XRP’s adoption and market performance. Key indicators include movements in XRP prices and any correlating changes in projected price levels for August. Observers should also watch for potential regulatory developments, such as the CLARITY Act, which could impact broader market conditions and XRP’s price trajectory.
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Term Structure
Contract Odds Δ since publish Volume 24h August 1 2026 0.4% — — View market → August 1 2026 2.6% — — View market → August 1 2026 0.9% — — View market → August 1 2026 0.2% — — View market → August 1 2026 0.4% — — View market → August 1 2026 8% — — View market →
XRP's logo will appear on countless jerseys in the US.
‘History on a jersey patch.’ That’s how Ripple’s team on X described the new partnership between the company and the Kansas Jayhawks.
Mostly referred to as simply KU or Kansas, the Jayhawks are the athletic teams representing the University of Kansas. KU athletic teams have won 15 national championships, including 12 NCAA Division I titles. Now, they will carry XRP’s logo.
The Jayhawks’ X account noted that this partnership is a “shared commitment to innovation and excellence,” as the token’s logo will appear on all of their uniforms. Ripple said this is the first-ever crypto sponsorship of a major college athletics program.
The FAQs shared by both parties shed more light on the collaboration. It will start in the fall of this year, and the patch color will ‘match’ the “overall color scheme of Kansas athletics and corresponding uniforms.” The XRP patch will be either Crimson, Blue, or White.
The logo of the cryptocurrency will appear only on game jerseys and not on practice, travel, or sideline gear.
The team also warned that officially licensed Adidas game jerseys for sale at retail stores will not be emblazoned with the XRP patch. On the other hand, if fans purchase an official game jersey at the Kansas Athletics’ official team store called Jayhawk Outfitters, the patch can be added at the time of the transaction.
Ripple CEO Brad Garlinghouse also commented on the move, calling it a “rare moment where my professional and personal worlds collide.” Born and raised in Kansas, he holds a Bachelor of Arts in Economics from the University of Kansas before getting an MBA from Harvard Business School.
You may also like: Ripple (XRP) Scores Major European Win With Full MiCA License Ripple’s OpenUSD Move: Payment Infrastructure Push or XRP Value Catalyst? What is OpenUSD (OUSD)? Visa, BlackRock, Coinbase, and 140+ Firms Fuel Buzz Around New Stablecoin Rare moment where my professional and personal worlds collide: XRP is now the first crypto on the jersey of a major college athletics program, at my alma mater.
XRP Family, meet the Jayhawks. Rock Chalk! https://t.co/F6uAL0kMNS
XRP has moved back into a zone traders are watching closely, with the $0.50 area acting as the line that decides whether the latest rebound has real structure behind it. The more interesting detail is that derivatives interest appears to be building at the same time.
The useful way to read this is not as a guaranteed price signal, but as a fresh piece of information in a market that is trying to sort real developments from noise. That is why the cleaner read is not simply that XRP is about to run. It is that the setup has become more active and more sensitive. Traders will be watching whether spot demand confirms the derivatives positioning.
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TL;DR A chart-led XRP setup points to price reclaiming the $0.50 area.Rising open interest suggests derivatives traders are positioning more aggressively.The key question is whether leverage supports a breakout or creates a sharper rejection risk. https://x.com/egragcrypto/status/2074213725673980177
Leverage changes the read A price reclaim with rising open interest can look bullish because it suggests traders are willing to commit capital behind the move. But it also raises the stakes. If too much leverage piles in too quickly, a failed breakout can unwind just as fast.
That is why the cleaner read is not simply that XRP is about to run. It is that the setup has become more active and more sensitive. Traders will be watching whether spot demand confirms the derivatives positioning.
The Market Read Embed the X chart immediately after TL;DR and keep it technical, not promotional.
That is the balance readers need to keep in mind. Crypto markets are quick to turn every update into a single-direction trade, but most durable stories are more layered than that. They matter because they change positioning, incentives, infrastructure, or regulation over time.
What Comes Into Focus Now From here, the important thing is follow-through. If the source data, company update, filing, or on-chain record continues to move in the same direction, this can become part of a larger trend. If it stalls, it is still useful as a snapshot of where attention is sitting today.
For traders and readers, the cleaner takeaway is to separate the confirmed development from the speculation around it. The confirmed part is what deserves coverage. The speculation is what needs caution.
For XRP readers specifically, the story is useful because it gives a clearer frame for the next few sessions. It tells them what to watch, which part of the market is reacting, and where the first obvious risk sits. That is more valuable than simply saying a token, company, or regulator has made a move. The useful work is in connecting the update to liquidity, positioning, adoption, enforcement, or user behaviour without pretending that any single headline controls the whole market.
The practical question now is whether this remains an isolated update or becomes part of a chain of follow-through. A second filing, another wallet move, fresh dashboard data, a new governance vote, or a stronger market reaction can all turn a clean single-day story into a broader narrative. Without that follow-through, it still matters, but more as a marker of where attention was concentrated on July 8 than as a complete trend on its own.
That distinction is especially important in a market where headlines can travel faster than context. A source-backed update gives readers something firmer to work with, but it does not remove liquidity risk, execution risk, or the chance that traders fade the initial reaction once the first wave of attention passes.
In that sense, the headline is only the starting point. The better read is to watch how builders, exchanges, funds, wallets, regulators, or large holders respond after the first announcement has moved through the feed.
This report is based on information from x.com.
This article was written by the News Desk and edited by Samuel Rae.
Exchange reserves have fallen to a seven-year low of about 1.6 billion XRP, half what they were at the October 2025 peak. ETFs have absorbed nearly a billion tokens. Ripple still holds roughly 36 billion in escrow. This is the full map of where XRP’s supply actually sits in mid-2026, what moved, what it means, and why a shrinking float has so far failed to move the price.
Summary
XRP exchange reserves have fallen to a seven year low while spot ETFs have accumulated nearly one billion tokens and long term holders continue moving coins into private wallets. Ripple still controls about 36 billion XRP in escrow, but steady monthly releases and relocks have not stopped exchange balances from shrinking to multi year lows. The report says tighter supply alone has not lifted XRP’s price, with weak market demand continuing to outweigh the effects of a declining tradable float. Something unusual is happening to XRP’s supply, and it is happening quietly, underneath a price chart that has spent 2026 telling a story of decline. Exchange reserves, the pool of tokens sitting on trading venues ready to be sold, have fallen to roughly 1.6 billion XRP, the lowest level in seven years and down about 50% from the October 2025 peak of 3.76 billion. On Binance alone, the largest venue for the asset, reserves have dropped 20% since November 2024 to about 2.6 billion tokens across its wallets, pushing a metric called the Scarcity Index to its highest reading in more than two years. Meanwhile the seven US spot ETFs have quietly accumulated more than 970 million XRP, locked in custody on behalf of fund holders, after nine consecutive weeks of net inflows.
Tokens are leaving the places where they can be sold and accumulating in the places where they tend to sit still. In most assets, that migration is the textbook setup for a supply squeeze. In XRP, the price has fallen anyway, trading near $1.13, down roughly 70% from its July 2025 peak of $3.65, through the entire period in which the float was tightening.
That contradiction is the story. This piece maps the full distribution of XRP’s supply as of mid-2026: what sits on exchanges, what the ETFs hold, what Ripple controls in escrow and operational wallets, and what the remaining tens of billions in private hands are doing. It then works through why a halving of exchange reserves has not produced the price response the squeeze thesis predicts, the competing explanations for the gap, and the specific conditions under which a tight float starts to matter. The supply side of XRP has rarely been this interesting; the demand side is the reason nobody has noticed.
The map: 100 billion tokens, five buckets XRP’s supply structure is unlike any other major asset, and the map has to start from its founding fact: all 100 billion tokens were created at launch in 2012. There is no mining, no issuance schedule, no future supply beyond what already exists. About 14 million XRP have been permanently destroyed as transaction fees since then, a rounding error, leaving total supply just below 100 billion. Everything else is a question of where the existing tokens sit, and in mid-2026 they sit in five buckets.
The first bucket is Ripple’s escrow, the largest single concentration of XRP in existence at roughly 36 billion tokens, about 36% of total supply. These are time-locked on-chain contracts releasing one billion XRP on the first of each month, of which Ripple typically relocks 600 to 800 million and keeps a net 200 to 300 million for operations, a mechanism this publication has explained in full. In July, Ripple relocked about 70% of the monthly billion, releasing 300 million into circulation. The escrow is the structural overhang critics cite and the transparency mechanism defenders praise, and either way it is the slowest-moving bucket: at current net-release rates, depletion is roughly nine years out.
The second bucket is circulating supply proper, about 62 billion tokens, and the remaining buckets are subdivisions of it. Exchange reserves, the third bucket, are the sellable edge of the market: roughly 1.6 billion tokens across venues, the seven-year low. The fourth bucket is the ETF complex: seven US spot funds holding a combined 970 million or so tokens, a bit over $1 billion in assets, tokens held by custodians and effectively removed from trading circulation for as long as fund investors stay put. The fifth bucket, by far the largest slice of circulating supply, is everything else: private wallets, corporate treasuries, whale cold storage, and long-term holders, somewhere near 59 billion tokens whose owners have, on the evidence of on-chain data, been net withdrawers from exchanges for over a year.
Two things stand out from the map. First, the actively tradable float, the exchange reserves, is now under 3% of circulating supply and under 2% of total supply, remarkably thin for a top-six asset by market value. Second, the two fastest-growing buckets, ETF custody and private cold storage, are both one-way doors in the short term: tokens flow in easily and come back out only when holders make an affirmative decision to sell.
What moved, and why The reshaping of the map over the past eighteen months has three drivers, each visible on-chain.
The first driver is the ETF complex, which did not exist before November 2025. Since the first spot XRP fund launched, the products have absorbed roughly $1.5 billion in cumulative inflows, and because they hold the underlying token, every dollar of inflow is a market purchase moved into custody. The funds have now recorded nine consecutive weeks of net inflows, adding $17 million in the latest week even as Bitcoin and Ethereum funds bled, a rotation this publication has tracked. Nearly a billion tokens now sit in ETF custody, and the mechanism only reverses if fund investors redeem at scale, which, so far, they have done on exactly one notable day, the quarter-end outflow of June 30.
The second driver is whale and institutional withdrawal. CryptoQuant data shows the Binance drawdown accelerating recently, from about 2.8 billion tokens in May to 2.6 billion in early July, exactly the window in which the Scarcity Index broke out to 0.77. Large-holder activity has strengthened while retail stays cautious, new-wallet creation hit a three-month high, and Korean venues have recorded repeated multi-million-token outflows. The pattern, tokens moving from hot exchange wallets to cold private ones, is the classic signature of accumulation by holders with no near-term intention to sell.
Notably, this is the reverse of December 2024, when the Scarcity Index collapsed because holders were depositing XRP onto Binance in bulk to sell the rally to $3; today’s flows run the other way, out of the venues, into storage, at prices two-thirds lower.
The third driver is the escrow’s steady arithmetic. Ripple’s net release of 200 to 300 million tokens a month adds roughly 4-6% to circulating supply annually, a bounded, scheduled inflation the market can model years ahead. In 2026 the company has if anything leaned conservative, relocking 70% in recent months, and part of what it does release goes to institutional counterparties off-exchange, never touching the tradable float at all. The escrow is a source of supply, but it is a metered one, and its pace has not changed while the exchange drawdown accelerated, which means the drawdown is demand-side behavior, not a supply-side trick.
The puzzle: a tightening float and a falling price Here is where the story stops being simple. Every element above, reserves halved, ETFs absorbing, whales withdrawing, metered issuance, belongs to the standard playbook of a supply squeeze, the setup in which shrinking availability meets steady demand and the price ratchets upward because sellers become scarce. XRP has instead spent 2026 falling, from $2.41 in January to near $1 in late June, before the modest recovery to $1.13. The float tightened; the price halved. Any honest supply analysis has to explain that, and there are three serious explanations, not mutually exclusive.
The first is that scarcity on exchanges measures potential, not pressure. A thin order book amplifies whatever demand arrives; it does not create demand. Through 2026, demand has been the missing side: derivatives open interest collapsed from last year’s highs, retail participation stayed weak, funding rates flipped decisively negative as price approached $1, and ETF inflows, while persistent, ran at a pace of tens of millions per week, roughly the same order of magnitude as Ripple’s monthly net escrow release in dollar terms. Australian lawyer and longtime XRP commentator Bill Morgan has made the sharper version of this point: neither the supply-squeeze thesis nor the older escrow-dump fear explains XRP’s price well, because the dominant variable is simply Bitcoin, which fell through the same months and dragged the whole market with it. On this reading, the tight float is dry tinder, and 2026 has been a year without a spark.
The second explanation is that the headline reserve numbers may overstate the tightness. Skeptics of the squeeze thesis note that measured exchange reserves depend on which wallets analysts attribute to which venues, that internal transfers can masquerade as outflows, and that estimates of total platform-held XRP across all venues and custodians run far higher than the headline 1.6 billion, with some placing 14 to 16 billion tokens within fast reach of order books. The February-March episode in which roughly 350 million XRP dipped and rebounded on Binance, likely internal wallet reshuffling rather than organic flow, illustrates how noisy the data is. If the true sellable supply is several multiples of the visible reserve, the squeeze is further away than the dashboards suggest.
The third explanation is structural: the sellers who matter are not on exchanges yet. Millions of tokens were accumulated between $1.50 and $1.90 during the spring’s failed rallies, and holders underwater at those levels represent a standing wall of supply that will migrate back onto exchanges precisely when price approaches their break-even. Add Ripple’s monthly release and the possibility of ETF redemptions in a risk-off shock, and the tight float is best understood as tight at current prices, with reinforcements waiting at higher ones. Santiment’s MVRV data showing holders at their deepest unrealized losses in the token’s history cuts both ways: it signals capitulation-grade sentiment, and it also marks exactly where the exit orders cluster.
How to read the metrics without fooling yourself Because the supply story runs on a handful of dashboards, and because those dashboards are routinely misread in both directions, a short field guide to the metrics is worth the space.
Exchange reserves are an attribution exercise, not an audit. Analytics firms tag wallets they believe belong to venues and sum the balances, which means the headline number moves when tagging improves, when exchanges reorganize custody, and when internal transfers cross the tagged perimeter, none of which involves a single token changing owners. The 350 million XRP that appeared to leave and re-enter Binance across February and March was almost certainly internal wallet management, and any single week’s reserve print should be read with that episode in mind. The signal is in the trend across months and across independent data providers, and on that standard the 2026 drawdown is robust: the direction has been consistent since late 2024, it appears in CryptoQuant, exchange-published data, and third-party trackers alike, and it has accelerated instead of mean-reverting.
The Scarcity Index is a ratio, and ratios have two moving parts. The index compares available supply on Binance against demand conditions, so it can rise because tokens leave, because buying absorbs, or both, and it can whipsaw, as it did on the round trip from 0.80 in spring to 0.34 in June to 0.77 in July, without the underlying reserve base moving anywhere near as violently. Its historical extremes are more informative than its level: the deeply negative readings of December 2024 marked holders flooding coins onto the venue to sell a top, and the current two-year high marks the opposite regime, coins leaving into weakness. As a regime indicator it has value; as a timing tool it has embarrassed everyone who used it as one this year.
ETF holdings are the cleanest series in the entire picture, because fund custodians disclose and the products file, which is why the roughly 970 million tokens across the seven funds is the number this piece leans on hardest. Even here, one habit matters: distinguish flows from assets. Net assets fall when the price falls even while inflows continue, which is exactly what happened through the spring, deposits arriving as valuations shrank, and reading the AUM decline as investor exit inverted the truth. Flow data, positive for nine consecutive weeks, is the demand signal; asset data is mostly a price echo.
Escrow figures, finally, come with the strongest health warning of all, because the number that matters is not the billion that unlocks but the net that stays out, and the net is only knowable after the relock lands days later. Ripple’s own quarterly reports, the on-chain escrow contracts, and the monthly relock transactions are all public, and the discipline is to compute the net against the trailing 200-to-300-million average before drawing any conclusion. A month in which the net spikes above the band is a genuine signal about the company’s cash needs; a month of headlines about a billion-token unlock that ends in a 70% relock, like this July’s, is a signal about headlines. Every metric in this story is public, which is XRP’s genuine advantage as an object of analysis, and every one of them rewards the reader who checks the denominator before repeating the numerator.
What history says about tightening floats The squeeze thesis is not being invented for XRP in 2026; it has a track record in this asset and others, and the record is worth consulting because it cuts both ways.
The supportive precedent is 2024. Exchange outflows through that year preceded the powerful multi-month rally that carried XRP from under a dollar to its January 2025 highs above $3, with Korean regional demand and shrinking sell-side reserves amplifying the move once the SEC settlement and ETF approvals supplied the demand spark. The structure of that episode maps closely onto today’s: months of quiet withdrawal, a scarcity metric stretching to extremes, skeptics dismissing the data, and then a catalyst arriving into a market with far fewer sellers than buyers expected. Holders who lived through it read the current seven-year-low reserves as the same picture at an earlier frame.
The cautionary precedents are just as instructive. The Scarcity Index itself has whipsawed within 2026: it climbed to nearly 0.80 in the spring, sagged to 0.34 by late June amid heavy long liquidations, then broke out to 0.77 in the first week of July, and the price fell through the entire sequence. A metric that can round-trip that violently inside one quarter is measuring flow conditions, not destiny, and the June reading arrived alongside more than $13 million in single-day long liquidations, a reminder that leverage positioning can overwhelm spot scarcity on any given week. December 2024 offers the mirror lesson: reserves ballooned precisely at the top, as holders raced to deposit and sell the $3 rally, which is to say the metric is at its most bullish after prices have already fallen and its most bearish after they have already risen, a lagging emotional gauge as much as a leading structural one.
The broader crypto record adds a final nuance. Bitcoin’s great supply-squeeze narratives, the 2020-21 exchange exodus, the post-ETF custody absorption of 2024, each eventually mattered, and each mattered on the demand side’s schedule, not the supply side’s. Assets have sat at multi-year reserve lows for quarters while prices drifted, and then repriced in weeks once flows arrived, because a thin float does nothing until someone leans on it, at which point it does everything at once. That asymmetry, long stretches of irrelevance punctuated by sudden amplification, is the honest historical summary, and it is why the traders who take the supply map seriously express the view through patience and position sizing, the same execution discipline any thin market demands, rather than through timing calls the data cannot support.
There is one more structural actor worth watching that previous cycles lacked: the corporate and fund treasuries. Beyond the seven ETFs, a growing roster of listed companies has adopted XRP treasury strategies, and the ETF custodian wallets themselves have become the single most legible accumulation channel in the asset’s history, absorbing roughly 750 million tokens in their first two months alone. Treasury demand is slower and stickier than trader demand, it neither chases rallies nor panics in drawdowns on the same timescale, and its growth quietly raises the floor beneath the float. Whether it grows fast enough to matter against escrow issuance is, like everything in this story, a race whose lap times are published monthly.
What would make the float matter The supply map becomes decisive only when demand shows up, so the forward-looking question is what could supply the spark, and the candidates are concrete.
The nearest is legal. The CLARITY Act’s commodity classification for XRP, if enacted, is the gate behind which the large conditional forecasts sit: JPMorgan and Standard Chartered have each projected $4 to $8.4 billion in first-year ETF inflows under passage, an order of magnitude above the current run rate.
Flows of that size, arriving into a float of under two billion exchange-held tokens, are the scenario in which the scarcity math stops being academic; the Senate’s three-week window is therefore as much a supply-side story as a regulatory one. The second candidate is institutional adoption converting to token demand through collateral and settlement use, the slow path whose honest accounting runs through Ripple Prime, and the third is simply the market cycle: XRP has historically fallen harder than Bitcoin in downturns and snapped back harder in recoveries, and a thin float mechanically steepens the snapback.
Against these, the checkable risks: a CLARITY failure pushing institutional flows past 2027, ETF inflows decelerating or reversing for consecutive weeks, or reserves rebuilding as underwater holders redeposit into any rally. The dashboard for all of it is public. Exchange reserves, the Scarcity Index, weekly ETF flows, and the monthly escrow relock are each published within days, and together they will show the squeeze forming, or failing, in close to real time.
The conclusion the map supports is narrower than either camp’s slogan. XRP’s tradable supply has genuinely, measurably contracted to multi-year lows while long-horizon buckets absorbed the difference, and that contraction has been irrelevant to price for a year because demand collapsed faster than the float did. Scarcity is not a catalyst; it is a multiplier waiting for one. The honest position is that XRP enters the second half of 2026 with the most squeeze-prone supply structure it has had since at least 2019 and no evidence yet of the demand that would trigger it, which makes the supply map neither bullish nor bearish on its own, but the single best lens for judging how violently the price will move when the demand question, one way or the other, finally resolves.
One final frame is worth carrying away, because it reconciles everything above into a single sentence: XRP in mid-2026 is an asset whose company is accumulating credentials, whose long-horizon holders are accumulating tokens, and whose traders have spent a year accumulating losses, and the supply map is the ledger on which all three behaviors are legible at once. The reserves data records the holders’ conviction, the ETF flows record the institutions’ patient entry, the escrow relocks record the company’s restraint, and the price records the absence, so far, of anyone forced to compete for a shrinking float. Markets in this configuration tend to resolve abruptly rather than gracefully, because thin floats do not permit gradual repricing in either direction: the same scarcity that would turbocharge an inflow shock also means a demand collapse finds few bids on the way down, which is the double edge the squeeze narratives rarely mention. The map says the stage is set. It has never claimed to know the play.
For readers who want to run the numbers themselves, the recipe is short. Take the circulating supply of roughly 62 billion, subtract the ETF custody balance published in the funds’ daily disclosures, subtract the aggregated exchange reserves from at least two independent trackers, and treat the remainder as the private-holder bucket whose behavior the withdrawal trends describe. Cross-check the month’s escrow arithmetic against the on-chain relock, and note the week’s ETF flow direction. Fifteen minutes of public data, repeated monthly, reproduces every structural claim in this piece and will catch the turn, whichever way it breaks, well before the headlines do.
The last variable, as always with this asset, is the one no dashboard tracks: how much of the withdrawn supply belongs to hands that will actually hold through the next stress test. Cold-storage balances built at $1.10 by buyers who watched the token at $3.65 carry a different resolve than balances built chasing a rally, and the 2026 drawdown has, if nothing else, transferred an unusual share of the float to owners who bought weakness deliberately. That is not a prediction. It is the one qualitative fact the quantitative map quietly implies, and the one that will decide whether the next demand shock meets a wall of break-even sellers or an empty room.
Disclaimer: This article is for informational purposes only and does not constitute investment advice. Digital asset markets are volatile and you can lose your entire investment. On-chain and market figures are estimates current as of July 8, 2026, and may change. Always do your own research.
Crypto futures trading in India saw significant growth from smaller cities. Women traders showed lower leverage and preferred specific digital assets. Bitcoin and Ethereum comprised a smaller portion of futures volume. Tamil Nadu led regional participation in crypto futures trading. Traders demonstrated tactical approaches and risk awareness in leveraged products.
ET OnlineWomen investors accounted for over 13% of crypto futures traders and their average leverage remained lower than that of male traders, according to a release by Giottus analysing its 1.3-million-strong customer base during the September 2025-May 2026 period.
The release further said that women traders also showed a stronger preference for XRP, Bitcoin, and gold-linked assets.
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Nearly half of the country’s crypto futures participation now comes from tier-2 cities even as futures trading has overtaken spot volumes. Crypto Futures contributed 57.22% of total platform trading volume, ahead of spot at 42.78%. At the same time, 48% of futures participants came from tier-2 cities, compared with 31% from tier-1 locations, and 21% from other locations.
The figures point to a broader shift in Indian crypto trading behaviour. Leveraged products (like futures) are no longer driven mainly by metro traders. The smaller-city participation is now emerging as a major force in crypto derivatives activity.
The report also showed strong acceleration in user growth during 2026. Futures participation grew 42.5% in February. It rose another 28.5% in March. April recorded 35.3% growth. In May, it was 30.3%.
Futures users currently account for only 24% of Giottus’ active user base. The data suggests there is still considerable expansion headroom within existing platform users.
“India’s crypto participation story is becoming geographically broader. We are seeing increasing engagement from smaller cities in products that were once viewed as niche or high-complexity,” said Vikram Subburaj, CEO of Giottus.
The dataset further showed unusually high engagement intensity among active traders. Average trades per active user peaked at 330 trades in January 2026. Even after moderation in April, users still averaged more than 51 trades a month. The figure was 45 in May.
Another major behavioural trend emerged in trading preferences. Bitcoin and Ethereum together accounted for only 15.35% of total Futures volume during the review period.
Ethereum accounted for 7.07% of the traded Futures volume. Solana accounted for 5.76% and XRP contributed 5.24%.
The figures suggest Indian retail traders are increasingly moving beyond Bitcoin exposure into higher-volatility altcoin opportunities. Trading behaviour appears to be becoming more tactical and event-driven.
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Tamil Nadu emerged as the dominant regional market in the dataset. The state contributed 46.6% of all futures traders. It also accounted for 59.26% of the platform’s total Futures trading volume. Kerala contributed 10.23% of the total trading volume.
The report also showed relatively balanced market positioning among traders. Long positions accounted for 52.79% of trades and short positions accounted for 47.21%.
Average leverage among Giottus Futures traders stood at 10x. More than 30% of trades used leverage above 10x. Despite that, monthly liquidation ratios ranged between 0.55% and 2.52% during the review period.
“The liquidation trends are important because they suggest participation is not entirely speculative or reckless. Users are showing greater awareness around position sizing and risk management while using leveraged products,” Vikram said.
The report further showed that Indian retail traders were most active between 7 pm and 10 pm. The lowest trading activity was recorded between 3 am and 6 am. The pattern reflects post-work retail participation and overlap with US market hours.
(Disclaimer: Recommendations, suggestions, views and opinions given by the experts are their own. These do not represent the views of The Economic Times)
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Cryptocurrencies are broadly extending declines on Wednesday, after last week’s recovery. The sell-off has seen Bitcoin (BTC) slide below $62,000, increasing downside risks toward the next key support at $60,000.
Ethereum (ETH) is edging lower, targeting the demand range at $1,700, while Ripple (XRP) remains under pressure, trading around $1.08.
Crypto sell-off intensifies as sellers assess Middle East conflictHeadwinds continue to weigh on the crypto market, as geopolitical tensions in the Middle East escalate. According to AP News, Iran launched attacks on American military bases in the Middle East on Wednesday in retaliation for attacks by the United States (US) on several places in Iran. The US has also reinstated sanctions on Iran’s Oil sales, saying that the developments were in response to Iranian attacks on ships in the Strait of Hormuz.
The fresh attacks have ignited fears that the war between the US and Iran could resume. US President Donald Trump fueled the fears, stating that the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) that paused fighting is “over.” However, Trump added that negotiations will be allowed to continue.
Oil prices jumped amid the attacks and geopolitical uncertainty. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) Crude traded at $74 on Wednesday, up from $67 the previous day.
WTI Oil price chartAs tensions in the Middle East remain high, sentiment in the crypto market has deteriorated. At 20, embedded in the Extreme Fear territory, the crypto Fear & Greed Index shows that appetite for risk assets is significantly suppressed.
Crypto Fear & Greed Index | Source: AlternativeBitcoin and Ethereum post mild ETF inflowsBitcoin spot Exchange-Traded Funds (ETFs) saw inflows resume, attracting $21 million on Tuesday, down from $266 million on Monday. This drawdown mirrors investors' concerns about tensions in the Middle East. Activity over the remaining days of the week would either reinforce the deteriorating sentiment or uphold a positive outlook. Besides, cumulative outflows stand at $51.37 billion, with net assets under management at $77.26 billion.
BTC ETF flows | Source: SoSoValueEthereum ETFs similarly extended the mild inflow streak with nearly $27 million recorded on Tuesday, up only slightly from $21 million on Monday. Cumulative inflows average $10.94 billion, with net assets under management at $9.53 billion.
ETH ETF flows | Source: SoSoValueAs for XRP, activity remained muted on Monday and Tuesday, according to SoSoValue data. This shows that while institutions appear to withdraw demand, long-term conviction in XRP remains intact, with cumulative inflows steady at $1.49 billion and net assets holding above $1 billion.
XRP ETF flows | Source: SoSoValuePrice analysis: Bitcoin losses deepen, eyes short-term supportBitcoin maintains a bearish near-term bias as the price remains well below the 50-day, the 100-day and the 200-day Moving Average Exponentials (EMAs). Moreover, the Crypto King is tracking a broader downward resistance trendline on the daily chart.
Momentum appears mixed, as the Relative Strength Index (14) around 45 leans slightly to the downside on the same chart, while the Moving Average Convergence Divergence (MACD) histogram stays positive, hinting that selling pressure is moderating rather than reversing decisively.
BTC/USDT daily chartOn the topside, initial resistance lies at the 50-day EMA near $65,540, with further supply layered at the 100-day EMA around $69,207 and the 200-day EMA close to $75,246, where the broader downtrend would be challenged. On the downside, first support emerges at the Parabolic SAR level around $59,434, followed by the prior trendline break price at $59,104, where buyers would need to step in to avoid a deeper slide toward the late-June lows.
Altcoins technical outlook: Ethereum and XRP remain under tight bearish gripEthereum trades at $1,738, maintaining a capped tone as it holds below the 50-day, 100-day and 200-day EMAs. Although momentum had improved with the MACD histogram in positive territory on the daily chart, the RSI has declined near the midline, suggesting that sellers are gaining traction.
ETH/USDT daily chartImmediate resistance lies at the 50-day EMA around $1,803, followed by the 100-day EMA near $1,964 and then the 200-day EMA around $2,251, where a reclaim would be needed to ease the broader downside pressure. On the downside, initial support lies at the current price area, with stronger underlying demand suggested by the Parabolic SAR level near $1,616. A daily close below this latter zone would likely reopen a deeper corrective phase.
XRP, on the other hand, maintains a bearish near-term bias. The token remains below the 50-day, 100-day and 200-day EMAs. The MACD indicator upholds a positive outlook on the daily chart. However, the RSI near 42 signals bears are tightening their grip.
XRP/USDT daily chartInitial resistance is seen at the descending trendline barrier around $1.16, followed by the 50-day EMA at $1.18, with the 100-day EMA at $1.28 and the 200-day EMA near $1.49 reinforcing a broader cap on recovery attempts. On the flip side, the first support sits at the Parabolic SAR level of $1.02. A daily close below this floor would open the way to a deeper retracement, while holding above it would keep XRP confined to a bearish but stabilizing range beneath the clustered EMAs.
(The technical analysis of this story was written with the help of an AI tool. Know more.)
Bitcoin, altcoins, stablecoins FAQs Bitcoin is the largest cryptocurrency by market capitalization, a virtual currency designed to serve as money. This form of payment cannot be controlled by any one person, group, or entity, which eliminates the need for third-party participation during financial transactions.
Altcoins are any cryptocurrency apart from Bitcoin, but some also regard Ethereum as a non-altcoin because it is from these two cryptocurrencies that forking happens. If this is true, then Litecoin is the first altcoin, forked from the Bitcoin protocol and, therefore, an “improved” version of it.
Stablecoins are cryptocurrencies designed to have a stable price, with their value backed by a reserve of the asset it represents. To achieve this, the value of any one stablecoin is pegged to a commodity or financial instrument, such as the US Dollar (USD), with its supply regulated by an algorithm or demand. The main goal of stablecoins is to provide an on/off-ramp for investors willing to trade and invest in cryptocurrencies. Stablecoins also allow investors to store value since cryptocurrencies, in general, are subject to volatility.
Bitcoin dominance is the ratio of Bitcoin's market capitalization to the total market capitalization of all cryptocurrencies combined. It provides a clear picture of Bitcoin’s interest among investors. A high BTC dominance typically happens before and during a bull run, in which investors resort to investing in relatively stable and high market capitalization cryptocurrency like Bitcoin. A drop in BTC dominance usually means that investors are moving their capital and/or profits to altcoins in a quest for higher returns, which usually triggers an explosion of altcoin rallies.
Hoskinson: Leios Puts Cardano on Par With XRP LedgerCardano founder Charles Hoskinson has made a bold claim about the network's next major protocol upgrade. Speaking in an interview with David Gokhshtein on The Breakdown podcast, Hoskinson said the Ouroboros Leios upgrade will increase Cardano's internal throughput by up to 60 times its current capacity. He argued the improvement would put Cardano on equal footing with the $XRP Ledger in terms of raw performance.
"Leios will be a 60x in terms of throughput inside the system, so we're good, we're as performant as XRP, and we still kept our principles," Hoskinson said.
The comparison carries real weight. The XRP Ledger is capable of processing up to 1,500 transactions per second with settlement times of 3 to 5 seconds, a benchmark that has made it a preferred network for payments and cross-border transfers. Cardano's current throughput sits well below that level, a gap that has drawn persistent criticism from developers and investors.
The Ouroboros Leios protocol introduces parallel transaction processing, aiming to reach speeds above 1,000 TPS while preserving decentralization and security. Hoskinson stressed that the gains come without the usual trade-offs associated with the blockchain trilemma, where scaling improvements often come at the cost of security or decentralization.
Testnet Live, Mainnet Targeted for Year-EndA public testnet called Musashi Dojo launched on June 23, 2026, marking the protocol's first operation in a live network environment. Mainnet deployment is scheduled before the end of 2026.
Hoskinson also said higher performance could attract more users, increase transaction activity, and lift DeFi TVL on the network. The comments follow an earlier warning from Hoskinson that Cardano's ecosystem could suffer if key governance votes fail to approve critical upgrades. He noted that the DeFi TVL on Cardano could collapse if governance members do not vote to approve the upgrades, remarks that came after notable Cardano ecosystem projects TapTools and JPG Store shut down.
The upgrade carries execution risk. Deployment on a live, decentralised mainnet introduces technical hurdles that a testnet environment does not fully replicate, and any delays could weigh on developer and market confidence heading into 2027.
Sources
BeInCrypto: Charles Hoskinson Bets Cardano Will Rival XRP Ledger's Speed After the Leios Upgrade
CryptoNews: Hoskinson Says Cardano Will Be as Performant as XRP With Leios Upgrade
CoinMarketCap: Latest Cardano (ADA) News and Updates
Look at the top of the board on July 8, 2026, and you see red: Bitcoin minus 0.3%, Ethereum minus 0.9%, XRP minus 3%, Solana minus 4%. Now scroll down. Zcash up 4.7% on the day. Uniswap up 4%. On the week, three coins that most traders wrote off years ago, Zcash, Uniswap and Bitcoin Cash, are all outrunning Ethereum. The rally did not stop. It rotated.
The frame first, as always. There is no single best altcoin, and anyone selling you one name is selling you their bags. What the data shows is a specific pattern: the majors ran first (BTC +7.1%, ETH +11.3% on the week), paused today, and capital slid into large, liquid, older alts. This list ranks the beneficiaries and the base-layer names, each with its case and its risk.
The One Number That Matters 19.5%. Zcash’s weekly gain, at a $7.88 billion market cap, while every coin in the crypto top 8 printed red over the last 24 hours. A small token pumping on a red day is noise. A seven-billion-dollar asset doing it is a statement: someone with size is buying against the market’s direction. Whether that someone is early or wrong is the question this whole list turns on.
1. Zcash (ZEC): the only green thing on a red screen Price: $469.57. Market cap: $7.88 billion. 24h: +4.7%. 7d: +19.5%. Volume: $518.4 million. Chart on CoinGecko.
The case: ZEC is the strongest large-cap in crypto this week, and today it did something rare, rising while all eight coins above it fell. Privacy is the narrative, but the structure matters more: Zcash shares Bitcoin’s hard 21 million supply cap, and at $469 the market is repricing that scarcity. Volume of $518 million on the day says this is not a thin squeeze.
The risk: privacy coins live under permanent regulatory threat, including exchange delistings, and ZEC has a long history of monster rallies that round-trip completely. A 19.5% week invites a violent give-back, and the coin sits far below its old cycle highs for a reason.
2. Uniswap (UNI): the fee machine waking up Price: $3.22. Market cap: $2.0 billion. 24h: +4.0%. 7d: +18.3%. Volume: $226 million. Chart on CoinGecko.
The case: UNI was the other green coin on a red day, and its turnover ratio (about 11% of its cap traded in 24 hours) shows genuine participation, not a ghost rally. Uniswap remains the largest decentralized exchange, meaning UNI is the closest thing to an index bet on DeFi activity itself. When alt volume rises, Uniswap’s volume rises, by definition.
The risk: at $3.22, UNI trades at a small fraction of its 2021 highs, and years of debate about whether the token captures protocol value have never fully resolved. Buying UNI is buying governance plus hope of fee flows; verify the current status of that story before sizing up.
3. Bitcoin Cash (BCH): the quiet 17.5% nobody is tweeting about Price: $235.93. Market cap: $4.73 billion. 24h: minus 0.1%. 7d: +17.5%. Volume: $100.7 million. Chart on CoinGecko.
The case: BCH climbed 17.5% in a week on barely 2% daily turnover, the signature of a tight holder base and steady, unhurried accumulation. No influencer campaign, no headline, just bid after bid. Rallies that nobody notices tend to last longer than rallies everybody is trading.
The risk: the same silence. Low turnover means low commitment, and a $4.7 billion coin trading only $100 million a day can retrace on modest selling. BCH also lacks a fresh narrative; it is momentum without a story, which works until it does not.
4. Ethereum (ETH): still the base-layer pick Price: $1,735.43. Market cap: $209.6 billion. 24h: minus 0.9%. 7d: +11.3%. Chart on CoinGecko.
The case: ETH led the majors all week and remains the settlement layer for most of what appears on this list, Uniswap included. If the alt rotation is real, Ethereum collects rent on it. Today’s 0.9% dip after an 11.3% week is digestion, not damage.
The risk: at a $209 billion cap, the explosive percentage upside lives elsewhere. ETH is the risk-adjusted pick, not the lottery ticket.
5. Solana (SOL): the sharpest pullback among majors Price: $77.36. Market cap: $45.0 billion. 24h: minus 4.0%. 7d: +4.6%. Chart on CoinGecko.
The case: SOL remains the high-throughput consumer chain, and a 4% red day after a green week is normal volatility for it. For believers in the ecosystem, dips like today are the entry mechanism.
The risk: today’s 4% drop was the worst in the top 8, and SOL’s weekly gain has faded to 4.6% from 10% a day earlier. Momentum is leaking. The ecosystem thesis needs price to stabilize here or the chart starts arguing with it.
6. XRP: the level broke, respect it Price: $1.08. Market cap: $67.67 billion. 24h: minus 3.0%. 7d: +5.1%. Chart on CoinGecko.
The case: XRP is still up 5.1% on the week and holds a massive liquid base at the sixth spot. The long-term arguments have not changed in a day.
The risk: yesterday our coverage said the pullback stays healthy above $1.11. That level broke; XRP closed the day at $1.08. In our framework, this is no longer a dip inside an uptrend, it is a failed first pullback, and the next real line is the round $1.00. Until XRP reclaims $1.11, it earns the bottom of this list, not the top.
Honorable mentions, and the warning that ran DeXe (DEXE) at $28.45 climbed 28.3% for the week, and Lighter (LIT) gained 24.2% despite a 9.4% red day, both mid-caps riding the same rotation with mid-cap risk attached. HTX DAO (HTX) added 13.2%, an exchange token with exchange-token concentration risk. And then there is MemeCore (M): last update we flagged its 90% weekly run as the warning label of the market. It ignored us and ran to +114.4% on the week, at a $1.91 billion cap. Honesty requires saying both things: the warning was early, and it was still right. Tokens that double in a week at billion-dollar caps are where fortunes are made by the fast and lost by everyone who arrives after reading about it. This paragraph is that arrival. Act accordingly.
Key Levels to Watch ZEC: holding above $440 keeps the breakout structure alive; $500 is the round wall ahead. UNI: $3.00 is now the line that separates rotation from noise. BCH: the quiet climb stays valid above $220. ETH: $1,700 is the digestion floor. XRP: $1.00 below, $1.11 above; the coin is between verdicts.
Bottom Line The week’s message is rotation: majors first, old-guard alts second, and today the second group kept rising while the first rested. Zcash is the strongest large cap on the board, Uniswap has the volume to back its move, and Bitcoin Cash is climbing in silence. None of it is a guarantee, and one of this list’s own picks, XRP, just showed how fast a healthy pullback becomes a broken level. Diversify, size small, and let the levels arbitrate.
This article is for information only and is not investment advice. Crypto assets are extremely volatile and you can lose your entire stake. Always do your own research.
Clearstream has expanded its institutional crypto custody service by adding six more digital assets.
Summary
Clearstream now supports eight crypto assets, widening institutional access beyond Bitcoin and Ether custody. The service uses Crypto Finance as sub-custodian, keeping the offering inside Deutsche Börse’s regulated structure. MiCA is pushing European institutions toward licensed custody, settlement, trading, and stablecoin infrastructure providers. Clearstream, the post-trade services provider owned by Deutsche Börse Group, said it now accepts Ripple-linked XRP, Cardano, Solana, Litecoin, Stellar, and Avalanche in its crypto custody offering. These assets join Bitcoin and Ether, which were already supported.
The move gives institutional clients a wider list of crypto assets inside Clearstream’s custody system. The firm said the expansion responds to growing demand for MiCA-compliant crypto assets in institutional finance.
Clearstream is one of Europe’s largest settlement and custody firms. Its parent, Deutsche Börse Group, operates across trading, clearing, settlement, and market infrastructure.
Crypto Finance remains sub-custodian Clearstream said the service continues to use Crypto Finance, another Deutsche Börse Group company, as sub-custodian. Crypto Finance holds a MiCAR license, which lets it provide regulated crypto services across Europe.
The structure allows Clearstream clients to access crypto custody through existing accounts with Clearstream Banking S.A. in Luxembourg. It also lets institutions use familiar market infrastructure instead of setting up direct relationships with separate crypto service providers.
When the service was first announced, Clearstream said it would support Bitcoin and Ether before considering more assets based on client demand. As previously reported by crypto.news, the original plan gave about 2,500 institutional clients access to crypto custody and settlement from April 2025.
MiCA shapes institutional demand The timing comes as Europe’s crypto market adjusts to the Markets in Crypto-Assets framework. MiCA created a single rulebook for crypto-asset service providers, including custody, exchange, transfer, and stablecoin services.
Meanwhile, ESMA’s register expanded after the July 1 deadline, with more firms gaining authorization to serve clients across the European Union. That shift has made licensing a key part of institutional crypto access.
Clearstream’s expansion fits that market. Banks, brokers, asset managers, and trading firms need custody providers that can meet regulatory, settlement, reporting, and operational needs.
The new token list also shows that institutional access is moving beyond only Bitcoin and Ether. XRP, Solana, Cardano, Litecoin, Stellar, and Avalanche each have large public markets and established user bases.
Deutsche Börse widens digital asset rails Deutsche Börse Group has been building several digital asset services across its market infrastructure. Clearstream’s custody expansion adds another piece to that broader strategy.
Moreover,Deutsche Börse partnered with Circle to bring USDC and EURC into its trading and custody network under MiCA. The plan includes trading through 3DX and custody through Clearstream.
The group’s approach centers on regulated access rather than direct retail crypto services. Clearstream serves institutional clients that often need asset safety, settlement support, and clear legal structures before handling digital assets.
XRP may have entered one of the most pivotal technical phases in years after breaking above a stubborn level that has capped its advances for an extended period. Market analyst Crypto Kid notes that this price region, previously a repeated ceiling for the coin, has now flipped into a support area. This shift is leading investors to revisit the possibility of XRP retesting its historic peak at $3.65.
Reshaping market structureAccording to Crypto Kid, XRP has turned a resistance zone that spanned multiple market cycles into a support base. In technical analysis, such moves are seen as signals that buyers are mounting stronger momentum and the broader trend is turning upward. The analyst believes that maintaining this support could pave the way for a renewed push toward the $3.65 mark.
The significance of this level runs deeper than just short-term price action. Last July, XRP reached its all-time high of $3.65 following the US House of Representatives’ approval of three major crypto-related bills, including the GENIUS Act and CLARITY Act. Hopes for a clearer regulatory environment at the time helped accelerate the asset’s rally.
Mini glossary: An order block marks a technical area on the price chart where strong buy or sell orders concentrate. Analysts view these zones as levels that may reveal institutional activity and can play a decisive role in future price moves.
Crypto Kid assesses that XRP has turned its long-standing resistance band into support, and if this structure holds, a fresh test of the $3.65 peak could be in play.
$1.10 support under short-term watchIn the immediate term, the market is eyeing the $1.10 level. XRP holding sideways above this threshold is seen as vital for sustaining its bullish structure. Should there be brief dips, buyers defending this zone could further reinforce the overall positive outlook.
The next key resistance stands at approximately $1.22. This area commands special attention as an order block on the four-hour chart coincides here. If XRP manages a convincing breakthrough above $1.22, analysts suggest the upside move could gain stronger momentum.
LevelTypeSignificance$1.10SupportCould indicate if short-term bullish structure holds$1.22ResistanceBreaching it may strengthen bullish momentum$3.65All time highProminent as a long-term target and key technical thresholdTrading volume surges sharplyAccording to CoinCodex data, XRP is currently trading at $1.12. The asset attracted attention after climbing above the initial key threshold at $1.14. Over the same period, trading volume soared more than 200%, signaling a robust revival in market participation.
XRP stands out as a digital asset closely linked to the Ripple ecosystem and is known for its use case in cross-border payments. Reaching the $3.65 level would require a significant further rally, but the strengthening support areas and growing trading activity suggest a recovery in market sentiment.
CoinCodex data shows XRP holding steady at $1.12, with trading volumes up more than 200%.
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.
Japanese companies are quietly reshaping how they manage corporate cash. With the yen continuing to slide, more firms are turning to $BTC and $XRP as an alternative store of value, according to SBI VC Trade, the crypto arm of Tokyo-based financial group SBI Holdings.
The company said use of its corporate service, SBIVC for Prime, has grown as the weak yen drives firms to spread reserves beyond cash, with added demand from companies that hand out Bitcoin or $XRP through shareholder-perk programs. In other words, some Japanese businesses are not just holding crypto on the balance sheet, they are distributing it directly to investors as a form of shareholder reward.
Account milestone masks the full pictureSBI VC Trade said registered accounts across its VCTRADE and BITPOINT services have surpassed 2 million, roughly doubling since 2025 and aided by its April 2026 merger with BitPoint Japan. That headline figure deserves some context. The 2 million figure combines its VCTRADE and BITPOINT services and follows SBI VC Trade's April 2026 merger with sister firm BitPoint Japan. The company plans to fully integrate the two brands around the end of December, which it said should cut costs and unify service levels. So a meaningful portion of the account growth reflects consolidation rather than purely organic demand.
The milestone tracks a broader pickup in regulated crypto access in Japan, where a strict licensing regime has kept the market smaller than in the US or South Korea, but is steadily drawing retail and corporate users as stablecoins and treasury strategies take hold.
Stablecoins add another layerCorporate treasury adoption is not the only growth driver. SBI VC Trade listed USDC in March 2025 in what it called Japan's first dollar-stablecoin listing, and in June 2026 added Ripple's dollar-backed RLUSD alongside JPYSC, a yen-pegged token it described as the country's first trust-based yen stablecoin, and began offering lending against stablecoins.
SBI's ambitions extend well beyond the current account count. SBI's planned acquisition of Bitbank, announced in June 2026, is projected to add approximately 960,000 accounts, which would bring the combined total to around 2.92 million. That would place it ahead of domestic rivals bitFlyer and Coincheck and cement its position as Japan's largest regulated crypto operator.
The broader trend points to a structural shift in how Japanese corporates view digital assets: less as a speculative trade and more as a practical tool for treasury management and shareholder engagement in an environment of persistent yen weakness.
Sources:
CoinDesk: Bitcoin, XRP draw Japanese firms as weak yen drives treasury diversification
Genfinity: SBI acquires Bitbank, cementing Japan's largest regulated crypto operator
Clearstream, the major European post-trade services provider and subsidiary of the Deutsche Börse Group, is doubling down on its digital asset strategy by expanding its institutional cryptocurrency custody offering.
Clearstream, the major European post-trade services provider and subsidiary of the Deutsche Börse Group, has expanded its cryptocurrency custody footprint.
The firm has announced the addition of a roster of new cryptocurrencies, including the Ripple-linked XRP, Stellar (XLM), Cardano (ADA), Solana (SOL), Litecoin (LTC), and Avalanche (AVAX). These new digital assets join Bitcoin (BTC) and Ether (ETH).
According to the firm, this expansion caters to the growing demand for MiCA-compliant (Markets in Crypto-Assets) digital assets within institutional finance.
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Initial entry into crypto Clearstream is one of the world's largest settlement and custody firms. It provides infrastructure securities across 60 different markets.
In early 2025, the Deutsche Börse Group announced that Clearstream would begin offering crypto custody and settlement services to its institutional clients.
The launch, which officially went live in April 2025, was made possible via an internal partnership. Clearstream used Crypto Finance (another entity within the Deutsche Börse Group that had recently secured a highly coveted MiCAR license) as its sub-custodian.
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This structure made it possible for Clearstream to rely on Crypto Finance's expertise while maintaining strict regulatory compliance across Europe.
As mentioned above, the original offering was strictly limited to the two largest cryptocurrencies by market capitalization: Bitcoin and Ethereum.
Clients of Clearstream’s International Central Securities Depository (ICSD) were able to use their existing accounts in Clearstream Banking S.A. (Luxembourg) to access cryptocurrency custody and settlement.
The most recent additions show that the firm is doubling down on crypto.
Clearstream, the post-trade services arm of Deutsche Börse Group, has expanded its regulated crypto custody offering to include six new digital assets beyond Bitcoin and Ether: $XRP, $ADA, $SOL, $LTC, $XLM, and $AVAX.
Six Altcoins Enter Institutional-Grade CustodyThe expansion builds on Clearstream's fully regulated crypto custody service launched last year. The firm says the move broadens client choice in crypto asset integration within established custody infrastructure, bridging the gap between traditional finance and the digital asset world. All six additions are held under the EU's Markets in Crypto-Assets (MiCA) regulation framework, via Crypto Finance, a MiCAR-regulated sub-custodian that is also part of Deutsche Börse Group.
Clearstream operates the German and Luxembourg central securities depositories and an international central securities depository for the Eurobonds market, with roughly €19 trillion in assets under custody, placing it among the world's largest settlement and custody firms for domestic and international securities. Putting altcoins on that shelf is not a symbolic gesture. It means regulated European institutions can now hold $XRP, $SOL, $ADA, $LTC, $XLM, and $AVAX through the same post-trade plumbing they use for equities and bonds.
MiCA Framework and the Crypto Finance ConnectionThe custody and settlement service is delivered through Crypto Finance, in which Deutsche Börse acquired a controlling stake for more than €100 million in 2021. Crypto Finance (Deutschland) GmbH is regulated by BaFin in Germany, while Crypto Finance AG is regulated by FINMA in Switzerland. The group secured its MiCAR license in January 2025, one of the first providers to do so in the EU.
Clients of Clearstream's International Central Securities Depository can access crypto custody and settlement through their existing Clearstream Banking S.A. accounts in Luxembourg, using established formats such as SWIFT. No additional contractual or technical relationship with separate crypto service providers is required. Clearstream says the expansion caters to the growing importance of MiCA-compliant crypto assets in institutional finance.
The infrastructure is now in place. Whether institutional capital follows in meaningful size remains the central question.
Sources:
Asset Servicing Times: Clearstream adds six new cryptocurrencies to custody offering
LeapRate: Clearstream expands crypto custody to 6 new digital assets
Clearstream official newsroom: Deutsche Börse Group provides institutional clients access to crypto assets
Institutional positioning around Ripple appears to be taking a different path.
The key takeaway is that this isn’t the usual whale accumulation or strategic buyback designed to create scarcity and fuel a sudden parabolic move.
Instead, the focus seems to be shifting toward growing conviction in XRPL’s infrastructure, with tokenization momentum increasingly becoming the main theme.
As the chart below shows, around $4 billion in tokenized RWAs are now live on XRPL, spanning more than 500 products. More importantly, there are already early examples of institutional usage.
Earlier this year, a treasury redemption involving JPMorgan Chase, Ondo Finance, and Mastercard was settled on XRPL in roughly four seconds, according to the companies involved.
Source: RWA.xyz Unlike scarcity-driven rallies, this momentum points to a different type of market dynamic.
From a psychological perspective, rising tokenization activity on XRPL shifts the focus away from pure speculation and toward network utility. The narrative is gradually shifting from investors accumulating Ripple [XRP] as an asset to institutions using XRPL as infrastructure for real-world financial applications.
This becomes even clearer when comparing Ripple’s tokenization growth with ETF momentum, showing how institutional capital is positioning around the ecosystem. This is especially notable with XRP already up more than 8% in June.
In this context, this divergence could be setting the stage for XRP’s Q3 momentum.
Tokenization emerges as XRPL’s key institutional growth driver While tokenization is growing across the market, what makes Ripple’s RWA momentum different?
Notably, $4 billion in total tokenized real-world assets [RWAs] sat on XRPL at press time. Roughly 4x the size of its entire ETF market.
To put this into perspective, XRP’s ETF market is around $1 billion. This means tokenization activity on XRPL is already four times larger than ETF exposure. This shows where the ecosystem’s growth is starting to concentrate, with more focus shifting toward real-world asset adoption.
Notably, this becomes even more interesting when paired with Ripple’s ETF momentum. Spot XRP ETFs have seen consistent demand, recording net inflows for eight straight weeks. They brought in around $23 million during the final full week of June, pushing cumulative inflows to roughly $1.47 billion.
Source: SoSoValue In this context, a 4x larger RWA market puts XRPL’s tokenization growth into perspective.
Technically speaking, if ETF inflows represent around $1.47 billion, a 4x RWA market would imply roughly $5.9 billion in tokenized asset activity. This highlights the growing scale of capital shifting toward RWA adoption, not just traditional XRP exposure.
This is especially notable as XRP ETF flows have outperformed both BTC and ETH flows during the same period. This adds to Ripple’s Q3 momentum, suggesting that the current cycle is being driven less by speculation and more by growing institutional conviction in the XRPL network.
The XRP Ledger has moved closer to activating its xrpld v3.2.0 upgrade after more than 55% of trusted validators adopted the latest software version. According to XRP Ledger Explorer data, 84 trusted validators, or 55.63% of the validator set, are now running xrpld v3.2.0. By comparison, version 3.1.3 remains active on 58 validators, representing 38.41% of the validator set, and on 440 nodes, or 52.51% of the network.
What the v3.2.0 Upgrade Includes XRP Ledger version 3.2.0 includes infrastructure improvements, bug fixes, and developer enhancements throughout the network. One of the most significant changes is the official renaming of the main server software from rippled to xrpld, under the XLS-0095 proposal. The software identity rebrand explicitly reinforces the decoupling of the decentralized public ledger from Ripple Inc., while technical enhancements optimize backend architecture, dropping overall validator server memory consumption by 30 to 40 percent.
Alongside the software release, developers also introduced the fixCleanup3_2_0 amendment. According to the release documentation, the amendment contains security-related fixes covering Single Asset Vaults, the Lending Protocol, permissioned decentralized exchanges, Multi-Purpose Tokens (MPTs), and permissioned domains. In addition, the update allows developers and users to access XRP Ledger protocol information and server definitions without operating a full server, a change intended to simplify integrations for wallets, APIs, blockchain explorers, and other automated services.
What Still Needs to Happen Before Activation Under the network's governance rules, a protocol amendment requires support from more than 80% of trusted validators for two consecutive weeks before it can be activated. Based on the current figures, roughly another quarter of the validator set must migrate to v3.2.0 before the upgrade can move toward activation. Even as validator adoption of the software continues to climb, support for the attached fixCleanup3_2_0 amendment remains well below the activation threshold, with the amendment having secured roughly 40% support so far.
Ripple has publicly supported the amendment, helping strengthen confidence around the proposed changes. Security firm Halborn completed a third-party audit of both amendments before the protocol entered the mainnet validator voting stage, adding further reassurance for the lending-related fixes bundled into the update. Developers are also continuing to monitor validator migration issues flagged in the project's GitHub tracker, though none of the documented defects have triggered network-wide service disruptions.
Sources:
XRP Ledger edges closer to key upgrade as validator support surges (crypto.news)
XRP Ledger v3.2.0 Full Upgrade Inches Closer As Validator Adoption Hits 55% (CoinGape)
XRP Ledger Amendments documentation (xrpl.org)
Leading cryptocurrencies and stocks fell on Tuesday after U.S. strikes on Iran and the revocation of the oil sanctions waiver rattled investors.
Crypto Rally StallsBitcoin briefly topped $64,000 in the afternoon before surrendering its gains, as trading volume dropped sharply over the past 24 hours
Ethereum followed a similar trajectory, spiking to $1,800 before facing a sharp rejection back to the mid-$1,770 region. XRP and Dogecoin also traded in the red.
Nearly $300 million was liquidated from the cryptocurrency market in the last 24 hours, predominantly in bullish long positions, according to Coinglass data
Bitcoin’s open interest fell 2.90% over the last 24 hours. Binance derivatives traders, including both retail and whale investors, bought the dip, increasing their long exposure to the apex cryptocurrency.
The market slipped back into “Extreme Fear,” according to the Crypto Fear & Greed Index.
Top Gainers (24 Hours)
The global cryptocurrency market capitalization stood at $2.2 trillion, with a slight 0.24% increase over the last 24 hours.
Stocks Retrace On Geopolitical TensionsStocks pulled back on Tuesday. The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 130.76 points, or 0.25%, to close at 52,925.15. The S&P 500 slid 0.45% to end at 7,503.85, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite declined 1.16% to settle at 25,818.69.
The slide followed the U.S. military launching a wave of strikes against Iran following attacks on commercial shipping in the Strait of Hormuz. The Treasury Department also revoked the sanctions waiver on Iranian oil exports, deeming Iran’s action “wholly unacceptable.”
On-Chain ‘Pain’ Pointing To Accumulation OpportunityOn-chain analytics firm CryptoQuant highlighted Bitcoin’s on-chain indicators at mid-year, noting that supply in loss exceeded 10 million, long-term holders were selling BTC at a loss and realized capitalization stood at $1.06 trillion.
“This level of on-chain pain is rarely observed and could suggest a potential medium- to long-term DCA [dollar-cost averaging] accumulation opportunity,” the research firm added.
Leading cryptocurrency analyst Ali Martinez said that Ethereum reclaiming $1,800 as an important support could clear the path for a move toward the next resistances at $1,980 and $2,079.
“Be aware that if sellers can protect this wall and force a rejection, the volume profile will thin significantly, leaving the next support baseline for ETH at $1,237,” the analyst cautioned.
Photo: KateStock / Shutterstock
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Bitcoin (BTC), Ethereum (ETH) and Ripple (XRP) face renewed selling on Wednesday, extending their corrective move so far this week. BTC faced rejection at $64,000, and ETH failed to break above the 50-day Exponential Moving Average (EMA). Meanwhile, XRP is extending its pullback for a fourth consecutive day. The top three cryptocurrencies signal risk of extending their ongoing corrections if critical support levels fail to hold.
Bitcoin extends correction after rejection at $64,000Bitcoin price trades at $62,898 on Wednesday, maintaining a bearish near-term bias as it holds below the 50-day, 100-day and 200-day Exponential Moving Averages (EMAs) at $65,578, $69,226 and $75,229, respectively.
The dense overhead EMA stack suggests rallies remain capped for now, even as the Relative Strength Index (RSI) hovers near a neutral 48 and the Moving Average Convergence Divergence (MACD) stays positive with the line above zero, and recent gains hint at improving but constrained upside momentum.
On the topside, initial resistance appears at the horizontal barrier around $64,004, followed by the 50-day EMA at $65,578, which reinforces a nearby supply zone. Higher up, the 100-day EMA at $69,226 and the 200-day EMA at $75,229 mark successive caps ahead of the more distant structural ceiling at $84,410, leaving the pair vulnerable to renewed selling while price trades beneath this layered resistance structure.
Ethereum faces rejection from the 50-day EMA at $1,803Ethereum price trades at $1,753 on Wednesday, maintaining a bearish near-term bias as it remains below the 50-day, 100-day, and 200-day EMAs at $1,803, $1,964, and $2,234, respectively.
Despite price being capped by this stacked EMA cluster, momentum has improved, with the RSI hovering near a neutral 52 and the MACD remaining in positive territory, with a firm reading around 27.75, hinting at ongoing recovery attempts within a broader downtrend.
On the topside, immediate resistance is located at the 50-day EMA near $1,803, followed by the 100-day EMA at $1,964 and the psychological barrier at $2,000, while the longer-term 200-day EMA at $2,234 marks a stronger cap on any extended rally.
On the downside, the next notable support sits much lower at the horizontal level around $1,385, where buyers are likely to defend the prior structural floor if the current rebound fails.
XRP shows signs of weaknessXRP price trades at $1.097 on Wednesday, holding below the 50-day, 100-day, and 200-day EMAs at $1.177, $1.279, and $1.493, respectively, which keeps the broader bias bearish. Price is also tracking within a downward parallel channel, with the upper boundary around $1.098 just above the market, while momentum looks mixed: the RSI at 44 remains below the midline, and the MACD prints modest positive readings, hinting at only a mild recovery attempt within a capped structure.
On the topside, initial resistance is located at the channel boundary near $1.098, followed by the 50-day EMA at $1.177 and the 100-day EMA at $1.279. Higher up, the horizontal level at $1.300 acts as a more significant barrier ahead of the long-term 200-day EMA at $1.493 and the major resistance zone around $1.900.
With no clear underlying support levels immediately below the current price in this dataset, any decisive rejection at the nearby $1.098 area would likely expose XRP to further downside within the prevailing bearish channel until new demand emerges.
(The technical analysis of this story was written with the help of an AI tool. Know more.)
Cryptocurrency prices FAQs Token launches influence demand and adoption among market participants. Listings on crypto exchanges deepen the liquidity for an asset and add new participants to an asset’s network. This is typically bullish for a digital asset.
A hack is an event in which an attacker captures a large volume of the asset from a DeFi bridge or hot wallet of an exchange or any other crypto platform via exploits, bugs or other methods. The exploiter then transfers these tokens out of the exchange platforms to ultimately sell or swap the assets for other cryptocurrencies or stablecoins. Such events often involve an en masse panic triggering a sell-off in the affected assets.
Macroeconomic events like the US Federal Reserve’s decision on interest rates influence crypto assets mainly through the direct impact they have on the US Dollar. An increase in interest rate typically negatively influences Bitcoin and altcoin prices, and vice versa. If the US Dollar index declines, risk assets and associated leverage for trading gets cheaper, in turn driving crypto prices higher.
Halvings are typically considered bullish events as they slash the block reward in half for miners, constricting the supply of the asset. At consistent demand if the supply reduces, the asset’s price climbs.
The XRP Ledger has seen a dramatic rise in the value of tokenized assets, reaching over $4 billion from $150 million within a year, according to a report by @coinbureau. This surge positions XRP among the top four global tokenization networks, alongside Ethereum and BNB Chain. The increase appears to be driven by institutional adoption and amendments like MPTokensV1, with inflows from spot XRP ETFs and stablecoin liquidity totaling over $1.2 billion. Notably, the JMWH energy-backed token contributes significantly to this figure, indicating a shift in the real-world asset (RWA) landscape.
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Key Takeaways The increase in tokenized assets on the XRP Ledger appears consistent with growing confidence in the platform’s utility. Market activity suggests potential for further XRP price increases, supported by the asset’s expanded role in tokenization. The development could indicate a competitive stance against Ethereum’s dominance in the RWA sector. What to Watch Observers should monitor the impact of ongoing institutional adoption and any regulatory developments, such as the CLARITY Act, which could further influence XRP’s market position. Key indicators include how XRP’s price reacts to these asset tokenization trends and whether it can sustain its growth trajectory. Additionally, any announcements regarding new XRP ETFs or amendments to the network could further shift market dynamics.
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Term Structure
Contract Odds Δ since publish Volume 24h August 1 2026 0.4% — — View market → August 1 2026 2.8% — — View market → August 1 2026 1.1% — — View market → August 1 2026 0.2% — — View market → August 1 2026 0.4% — — View market → August 1 2026 10% — — View market →
Shiba Inu is still under a lot of pressure even though it appears to be stabilizing close to local lows. The meme coin is currently trading at about $0.0000044 after going through a protracted bearish trend for a few weeks, which has largely eliminated the recovery momentum that was observed earlier this year.
For SHIB bulls, the daily chart presents a challenging picture. After supporting price action in March, April, and May, the asset recently broke out of a rising channel. Sellers swiftly regained control after that structure failed, pushing SHIB in the direction of its current range. Even though the token saw a slight increase in value in June, there wasn't enough volume in the recovery to overcome significant resistance levels.
SHIB/USDT Chart by TradingViewFrom a technical standpoint, SHIB is still below the 50-, 100-, and 200-day moving averages. This alignment suggests that buyers still have a lot of work ahead of them and is usually linked to a significant downtrend. Stronger barriers still exist close to the 100-day EMA and the declining 200-day trend line, while the closest resistance zone is located around the 50-day EMA. The RSI, which is still close to oversold territory, is one positive indicator.
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In the past, when momentum indicators hit such low levels, SHIB has frequently generated relief rallies. Oversold conditions by themselves, however, do not ensure a reversal, particularly when overall market sentiment is still unstable. Instead of initiating a full recovery, SHIB seems to be establishing a temporary base for the time being.
A more significant rebound may occur if buyers are able to sustain support around present levels and progressively raise the price above short-term moving averages. However, the asset would be vulnerable to another downward leg if the recent lows were not held. Whether SHIB is forming a bottom or just pausing before continuing its wider decline will probably be determined over the coming weeks.
Bitcoin's shallow recovery effort Following a significant sell-off that pushed the price below a number of crucial support levels, Bitcoin is making an effort to rebound. Although the recent surge has helped Bitcoin return to the $63,000 area, it now faces one of its most significant technical challenges in months. According to the chart, after losing support from a rising trendline that had dominated price action for the majority of the spring, Bitcoin experienced a significant breakdown in June.
Before buyers intervened, the collapse set off a wave of selling pressure that drove Bitcoin down to the low $60,000 region. Bitcoin has since recovered its short-term 50-day moving average, a sign that the bearish momentum is starting to subside. The recovery is still not complete, though. BTC is still below the 100-day and 200-day moving averages, which are located close to $66,000 and $75,000, respectively.
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Major resistance zones that might draw sellers are represented by these levels. Additionally, during the recovery, volume has stayed comparatively low, suggesting that institutional conviction has not completely returned.
Growing participation is a prerequisite for strong recovery rallies, which is still lacking in the current movement. The RSI is getting close to neutral territory and has greatly recovered from oversold conditions. This change does not yet prove a trend reversal, but it does imply that the worst of the panic selling may be behind us.
The area between $65,000 and $66,000 is the most crucial level to monitor. The bullish case would be strengthened and a wider recovery toward higher resistance levels would be possible with a successful break above that zone. But if Bitcoin doesn't succeed there, the current trend might just be a relief rally within a bigger bearish structure. For the time being, Bitcoin's comeback is still viable, but before bulls can declare victory, significant technical challenges must be overcome.
XRP stays cautious After weeks of intense selling pressure, XRP is making an effort to recover, but the asset has reached a technical crossroads that could dictate its course for the rest of the month. Bulls won their first significant victory since the June breakdown when XRP surged back above the 50-day EMA. In the vicinity of $1.18, the price momentarily rose toward the 100-day moving average, but sellers soon emerged and rejected the move.
Because of this, XRP is still caught between a general bearish trend and rebounding momentum. Technically speaking, the chart still recommends caution. The 200-day moving average is still well above current prices, at about $1.50, while the 100-day EMA continues to serve as immediate resistance. Therefore, despite the recent uptick, the long-term structure is still bearish.
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An encouraging indication is that momentum has improved. Panic selling has mostly stopped, as evidenced by XRP's RSI rising from oversold territory and getting closer to the neutral zone. Additionally, volume has increased during the recovery attempt, indicating that buyers are at least prepared to defend recent lows. Whether XRP can turn this bounce into a real trend reversal is the crucial question.
The bullish case would be greatly strengthened by a daily close above the 100-day EMA, which would also pave the way for the $1.28 area, where the 200-day trend resistance starts to become apparent. However, another decline toward the $1.05–$1.08 support zone could occur if the current resistance is not overcome.
For the time being, XRP is more resilient than it was for the majority of June, but before a more significant recovery can be verified, bulls still need a clear breakout.
Solana expresses strengthAfter regaining several significant technical levels during its recent recovery, Solana is one of the few major cryptocurrencies exhibiting observable signs of strength. SOL has recovered above its 50-day and 100-day moving averages after a protracted decline. Right now, the asset is trading close to $81 and is consolidating just below a sizable resistance area between $82 and $85. This region served as support prior to the market-wide sell-off in June, but it now poses the biggest obstacle for buyers.
SOL/USDT Chart by TradingViewSince the June bottom, Solana has established a series of higher lows, in contrast to many altcoins that are still stuck below short-term resistance. This suggests that buyers are progressively taking back control of the market structure. Additionally, momentum indicators confirm the improving outlook.
The RSI has risen above 60, indicating increasing buying pressure that has not yet reached overbought levels. In the past, readings within this range have frequently coincided with the initial phases of more robust recovery rallies. The breakout above the moving averages has more credibility because volume has increased during the rise.
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Thin liquidity was not the cause of the recent spike; rather, a discernible rise in market participation was. A clear move above the $85-$90 range is the next goal for bulls. The 200-day moving average around $96 would come into focus with a successful breakout there, and it might also mark the start of a more significant trend reversal.
Nonetheless, traders shouldn't disregard the potential for a brief decline. Solana has recovered significantly from its June lows, and it would be typical to take profits close to resistance. The recovery structure is unaffected as long as SOL stays above its recovered moving averages.
Solana currently has one of the best technical setups of any major altcoin, but before the bear trend can be deemed completely broken, it still needs to get past long-term resistance.
Bitcoin touched $64,000 on Tuesday, supported by robust spot ETF inflows, sustained institutional demand and improving market sentiment.
Notable Statistics:
Coinglass data shows 98,815 traders were liquidated in the past 24 hours for $417.63 million. SoSoValue data shows net inflows of $265.7 million from spot Bitcoin ETFs on Monday. Spot Ethereum ETFs saw net inflows of $20.7 million. In the past 24 hours, top gainers include MemeCore, Zcash and Sun. Notable Developments:
Trader Notes:
Trader exitpump expects Bitcoin to remain range-bound through the summer, with price action between $67,000 and $74,000. Rather than trying to call the exact bottom, the focus is on trading the current range until a clearer breakout or breakdown emerges.
Daan Crypto Trades highlighted Spot Bitcoin ETF flows have turned positive since Friday after one of the largest selling streaks on record.
Despite continued ETF outflows after Bitcoin first tested the $60,000 level in June, the crypto king has held above that support, suggesting significant buying demand and absorption in that price zone. The key question now is whether renewed ETF inflows can shift momentum and spark a sustained recovery.
CryptosBatman said Bitcoin remains locked in a broad macro consolidation range, with price continuing to build a long-term base.
Historically, extended periods of low volatility and sideways trading have preceded the strongest rallies, suggesting a completed base could pave the way for the next major expansion phase.
Image: Shutterstock
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XRP price slipped 1.83% to $1.12 in 24 hours, but weekly gains stayed near 10%. Ripple’s full MiCA approval in Luxembourg added a fresh regulatory boost for the company. The license provides Ripple with an opportunity to develop crypto services in 27 European Economic Area nations.
The change was given as the broader crypto market demonstrated greater momentum on Tuesday. Bitcoin price remained in positive territory and gained more than 7% for the week. The shift was amidst declining U.S. stock and increased oil costs related to geopolitical strains.
Market sentiment also rose following a second endorsement of pro-crypto policies by Donald Trump. Ether was trading around $1770 during the day. Final GENIUS Act rules are awaited by investors before July 18, 2026.
Ripple Secures Luxembourg CASP License Under EU MiCA Rules Ripple has also obtained complete MiCA licensure in Luxembourg, reinforcing its regulated crypto payments enterprise in Europe. This was approved by Luxembourg Commission de Surveillance du Secteur Financier, or CSSF. It provides Ripple with a Crypto Asset Service Provider license according to the MiCA regulations of the EU.
The license gives Ripple passporting rights across the European Economic Area. That allows the company to offer regulated crypto services in all member markets. Ripple reported that the approval is after initial clearance in June 2026. The company is also licensed to use EU e-money license.
This might be Ripple’s biggest European milestone in history…@Ripple $XRP has received full Crypto Asset Service Provider (CASP) under Europe’s MiCA regulatory framework.
As a result, it can now offer services to users in every single country in the European Economic Area… pic.twitter.com/OqntPe58Zp
— BSCN (@BSCNews) July 6, 2026
Both approvals combine to finance its banking, company, and business payment system. The framework provides a better compliance pathway of crypto transactions, said Ripple. The relocation can also aid XRP and Ripple RLUSD stablecoin in Europe. Cassie Craddock claimed that after transitioning MiCA, Ripple is all good and prepared to scale.
XRP Spot ETF Inflows Hit Eight-Week Streak With $1.49B Total XRP spot ETFs extended their eight-week inflow streak, with cumulative net inflows reaching $1.49B. SoSoValue data showed zero daily net inflow on July 6, after the latest update. Total net assets stood at $1.05B, equal to 1.47% of XRP’s market cap.
Source: Sosovalue data The total value traded was at $14.48M among the listed funds. Bitwise’s XRP fund led with $330.84M in net assets. Canary and Franklin trailed behind with $265.30M and $261.68M, respectively. The XRP-linked products also logged market price gains above 5% at close.
Will XRP Price Hit $1.30 in July 2026? On the four-hour chart, the price of XRP was trading at 1.1278, just above the $1.12 support zone. The token lost its short-term rising channel at around $1.15. That area is now the initial defense in the way of any recovery effort.
A break above $1.15 might provide an opportunity to reach $1.20. That level remains the next major upside target on the chart, and if bulls mount more pressure, the XRP price will rally to $1.30 by the end of this month. However, failure to reclaim $1.15 may keep sellers in control.
Source: XRP/USDT 4-hour chart: Tradingview The RSI was close to 49, and the momentum was weak following the recent pullback. The MACD also displayed a weakened strength as bearish bars were being generated underneath the signal line. In case the XRP price drops by $1.12, the subsequent downside goal might be around $1.05.
Japan's SBI Holdings has crossed 2 million registered accounts on its crypto exchange platform, a milestone that reflects both deliberate corporate strategy and a broader shift in how Japanese retail investors are engaging with digital assets.
A Milestone Shaped by Consolidation and Loyalty Programs The 2 million figure was recorded on July 6, and it was not achieved through organic growth alone. The round figure was formed through the merger of accounts from the VCTRADE and BITPOINT platforms following SBI's April acquisition of BITPoint Japan. That deal accelerated a push that SBI's management had been building through a series of crypto reward programs tied to its broader financial product suite.
At the center of that push is $XRP. SBI Holdings distributed $XRP to its own shareholders as a formal shareholder benefit, a program renewed in 2026 with distributions beginning May 1, effectively reaching hundreds of thousands of Japanese retail investors. The tiers are modest but deliberate: shareholders holding 100 to 999 shares receive 500 yen worth of $XRP, while investors with 1,000 or more shares may receive up to 1,000 yen in $XRP depending on their holding period.
The rewards do not stop at share ownership. In February 2026, SBI issued a blockchain-based bond worth 10 billion yen, approximately $64.5 million, that rewarded retail investors with $XRP alongside fixed interest payments. Separately, SBI Shinsei Bank launched a pilot program on June 10, 2026, that lets depositors redeem 20% of their deposit interest as vouchers for cryptocurrencies, including $BTC and $XRP, targeting around 4.33 million eligible accounts.
Yen Weakness and the Search for Alternative Assets The timing of this retail crypto surge is not coincidental. A sustained weakening of the Japanese yen has pushed both corporations and individual savers to look beyond traditional yen-denominated instruments. Japanese firms are not accumulating $BTC and $XRP for classic exchange speculation, but for a new national practice in which corporations include cryptocurrency in their shareholder loyalty programs.
SBI Holdings has maintained close ties with Ripple since 2016 and remains one of its largest external shareholders, with an estimated 9% equity stake. That relationship now underpins a financial infrastructure stack spanning tokenized securities, stablecoin distribution, and payment corridors. SBI VC Trade began distributing Ripple's U.S. dollar-backed stablecoin, RLUSD, in Japan on March 31, 2026, following Japan's revised Payment Services Act.
SBI's ambitions in the domestic exchange market are clear. The conglomerate's goal is to overtake historical competitors by client base, including Coincheck, which still leads with 2.62 million accounts, and to build a full-fledged on-chain ecosystem anchored around Ripple and XRP Ledger technologies.
Sources
Crypto Briefing: SBI VC Trade surpasses 2M registered accounts as Japanese firms use Bitcoin and XRP for loyalty programs
U.Today: Japanese Firms Accumulate More Bitcoin and XRP Amid Yen Drop, SBI Reports
DL News: Japanese securities giant to issue $65 million worth of XRP-paying blockchain bonds
Is XRP heading above $10 or is there something else to the story?
Ripple’s cross-border token is among the most polarizing, often being the center of attention within the cryptocurrency community for major price predictions (whether bullish or bearish).
One of the recent examples came from EGRAG CRYPTO, among the most optimistic XRP commentators on X, who outlined a highly favorable chart for the asset. On the other hand, shah wondered what all the hype is about the token.
XRP’s Chart Doesn’t Lie EGRAG has made some major price predictions in the past for XRP, many of which sound unreasonable now given the asset’s struggles to remain above $1.10. However, the analyst tends to focus on the long-term price performance, trying to isolate the structure from the noise and emotion.
In their latest post on the matter, they published a chart mapping out the token’s possible future movement. It first envisions a price dip to $0.95, which aligns with other analysts’ expectations for a new low beneath $1.00, before the next major leg up.
The promising green wick for the bulls charts a run toward a new all-time high and well above. In fact, EGRAG has frequently posted targets of up to $27 for XRP during the most intense expansions of the next bull cycle.
#XRP – CHART, No Comment 🤫:
Men Lie, Women Lie But Charts and Numbers do not Lie.
Structure > Noise > Emotion. ONLY FEW 🧠 pic.twitter.com/GLbM1W1Xpd
— EGRAG CRYPTO (@egragcrypto) July 7, 2026
What’s All This Hype? In contrast to EGRAG’s bullish charts on XRP, shah asked their over 400,000 followers on X to explain all the hype around XRP. They wondered, “Why on Earth would this coin ever go to hundreds per coin?”
You may also like: XRP Suffered 22% June Loss, but History Favors a Major July Rally Ripple (XRP) Keeps Dominating ETF Flows, but Cracks Are Starting to Show This XRP Signal Has Never Looked Worse, But is That the Setup? (Analyst) The comments below were quite unfavorable for the cross-border token and those who believe it may go beyond $100. Kendall Tart explained that a triple-digit price tag would require its market cap to rocket past $6 billion. This would make XRP bigger than Apple, which sounds far-fetched, to say the least, at the moment.
Others compared XRP holders to MAGA believers, indicating that Ripple’s CEO, Brad Garlinghouse, is “their president and his cabinet are paid influencers that say buzzword points that get regurgitated over multiple social media platforms.”
Another comment predicted that it can’t and won’t go anywhere near $100. Moreover, the user proclaimed XRP as “dead” given its tokenomics, never-ending selling pressure, and “horrible internal organization.”
