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XRP Price Falls as CLARITY Act Nears Make-or-Break Deadline: What’s Next?

Ripple has announced a strategic investment in Notabene, aiming to integrate its RLUSD stablecoin into Notabene’s enterprise transaction network. This collaboration is expected to enhance Ripple’s reach within the regulated on-chain transaction sphere and expand the utility of its stablecoin offerings. Notabene, known for its infrastructure supporting compliance with the Travel Rule, will work with Ripple to explore the integration of its payment authorization tools with Ripple’s payment solutions for institutional clients. The financial terms of the investment have not been disclosed.

This move by Ripple is seen as an effort to bolster its competitive position in the enterprise payments sector by leveraging Notabene’s extensive network. The strategic investment could potentially lead to increased adoption and utility for Ripple’s digital assets, including XRP. Currently, Ripple’s efforts to expand its ecosystem with RLUSD integration appear consistent with scenarios where XRP might see increased demand.

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Markets have reacted to the news with varied expectations regarding XRP’s price movement. Despite the strategic significance of Ripple’s investment, the impact on XRP’s price predictions for July remains subdued. As of now, pricing suggests a limited probability of reaching higher price targets, with only modest increases in probability for certain price points.

Key Takeaways Ripple’s investment in Notabene appears to support the integration of RLUSD into a major enterprise transaction network, suggesting enhanced utility for Ripple’s stablecoin. Pricing suggests that markets view the news as a positive development for Ripple, but the immediate impact on XRP price predictions is limited. The collaboration may indicate potential for increased adoption of Ripple’s payment solutions, particularly in regulated environments. What to Watch Observers will be interested in any further announcements from Ripple and Notabene regarding their collaborative efforts and potential clients in the institutional payments sector. The impact of this strategic investment on XRP’s price will depend on broader market conditions and any subsequent developments that could drive adoption. Markets will closely monitor Ripple’s progress in integrating RLUSD with Notabene’s payment authorization tools, which could influence XRP’s utility and market dynamics in the near term.

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Ripple Just Made 2 Moves to Push RLUSD Into Institutions

A16Z executive says XRP set for surge if CLARITY Act passes

XRP price today is down 2.39% to $1.11 today, underperforming a slightly negative market.XRP ETFs pulled in nearly $1.47 billion in cumulative inflows through late June. An estimated 200 million to 300 million XRP reach the market every single month. The CLARITY Act still lacks the 60 Senate votes needed to beat a filibuster now.XRP is down 2.39% to $1.11 today, underperforming a slightly negative market, in a session driven primarily by broader macro pressure rather than anything specific to the token itself.

The selloff isn’t isolated to crypto. Roughly $2.8 trillion was wiped out across stocks, gold, silver, and crypto in the past 24 hours, following a disappointing Alphabet earnings report that raised concerns about AI spending outpacing profits. Trump has also told Axios he is close to ordering a larger military strike on Iran, adding another layer of macro fear across risk assets.

Technical PictureXRP ran up to $1.16 earlier this week before flushing back down to $1.10 support. The broader trend remains down, with no evidence yet that a major low is in place. Important resistance sits between $1.19 and $1.42, a zone that hasn’t even been tested yet. 

If the current bounce fails and price breaks below $1.14, the analyst sees a reasonable bear market target near $0.74 to $0.75, potentially aligned with Bitcoin forming its own cycle low around September or October.

CLARITY Act Remains Stuck

Crypto’s regulatory centerpiece, the CLARITY Act, is still short of the votes needed to pass. The bill needs 60 votes in the Senate, and Republicans currently don’t appear to have all 50 of their own members locked in, let alone the additional Democratic support required. 

Senators from Utah and Texas have echoed bank concerns about deposit flight, a senator from Louisiana has voiced hesitation, and at least one Republican has flatly opposed the ethics provisions as written. Senator Elizabeth Warren has publicly urged colleagues to vote against the bill entirely.

Not everyone in finance opposes it. Goldman Sachs CEO David Solomon has publicly called for advancing the legislation. Delays in releasing bill text have pushed negotiations dangerously close to the August 7 recess deadline, according to political reporting cited in recent coverage, leaving a shrinking window to get a vote scheduled at all.

What’s Actually Changed for XRP

Away from daily price swings, XRP’s underlying legal and market position has genuinely shifted over the past year:

The five-year SEC lawsuit is fully resolved, with both sides dropping appeals and the original $125 million penalty reduced to $50 million.Seven US spot XRP ETFs now exist, following Canary Capital’s XRPC launch in November 2025.XRP ETFs pulled in nearly $1.47 billion in cumulative inflows through late June, spanning seven to eight consecutive weeks of net buying before that streak broke with a $7.18 million outflow the week of July 6.Ripple’s own stablecoin, RLUSD, has grown to a $1.5 billion market cap, roughly tripling over the past year, with Mastercard piloting settlements on Ripple’s infrastructure.Why the Price Hasn’t FollowedDespite that progress, several structural factors continue to work against XRP specifically:

ETF funds hold only about 1% to 2% of XRP’s circulating supply, limiting their price impact even during strong inflow streaks.RLUSD may compete with XRP rather than support it, since a dollar-backed stablecoin can move money across borders without anyone ever holding XRP. More than 45% of RLUSD supply currently sits on Ethereum rather than the XRP Ledger.On-Demand Liquidity volume is real, but XRP is typically only held for a few seconds mid-transaction, generating volume without creating genuine demand to hold the coin long-term.Total value locked in XRP Ledger lending and trading apps has fallen roughly 70% from its 2025 peak.An estimated 200 million to 300 million XRP reach the market every single month from Ripple’s escrow releases, with roughly 38 billion XRP still locked and awaiting future release.A newly launched competing stablecoin consortium, Open USD, backed by more than 140 firms including Visa, Mastercard, Coinbase, and BlackRock, positions Ripple as just one participant rather than the center of the payments infrastructure XRP was built to support.A Possible Bottom SignalSome experts see recent industry stress as a sign the market may be nearing a cycle low. Crypto exchange BitMEX is shutting down effective September 23. Several digital asset treasury companies and at least one crypto-focused hedge fund have also wound down operations recently, following a broader wave of deleveraging across the sector.

Story Ends Here

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Bitcoin (BTC) stalls near the 50-day Exponential Moving Average (EMA) at $65,145 after a mild correction earlier this week. Meanwhile, Ethereum (ETH) and Ripple (XRP) face rejection at key resistance levels, keeping the short-term technical outlook bearish.

Bitcoin could recover if 50-day EMA holds as supportBitcoin price trades at $65,300 on Friday, with a neutral-to-slightly bullish near‑term tone as spot action holds just above the 50‑day Exponential Moving Average (EMA) at $65,145 while still trading beneath the 100‑day and 200‑day EMAs at $67,980 and $74,094, respectively. This configuration suggests the bounce from the recent base is gaining traction but remains a corrective move within a broader capped structure.

The Relative Strength Index (RSI) at around 54 points to steady, non‑overbought upside momentum, while the positive Moving Average Convergence Divergence (MACD) reading above the zero line suggests bullish pressure is improving but not yet strong enough to challenge the higher daily trend barriers.

On the downside, immediate support is located at the reclaimed 50‑day EMA near $65,145, with a stronger demand zone emerging at the prior horizontal floor around $64,004 if sellers regain control. 

On the topside, initial resistance is seen at the 100‑day EMA clustered near $67,980, ahead of the more decisive medium‑term hurdle at the 200‑day EMA around $74,094; a sustained break above these levels would be needed to reopen the path toward the distant horizontal resistance at $84,410.

Ethereum faces rejection from the 100-day EMAEthereum price trades at $1,875 on Friday and holds above the 50-day EMA at $1,831, hinting at a modestly constructive short-term tone, but remains capped beneath the 100-day EMA at $1,938 and the distant 200-day EMA at $2,187, which keep the broader recovery in check. 

The RSI at 56 sits in positive but non-extreme territory. At the same time, the MACD remains in positive territory, together suggesting steady but not explosive bullish momentum as long as price holds above the 50-day EMA.

On the topside, immediate resistance is at the 100-day EMA near $1,938, with a break there exposing the psychological horizontal barrier at $2,000, then the 200-day EMA at $2,188. 

On the downside, initial support is provided by the 50-day EMA around $1,831, ahead of a more distant structural floor at $1,385, where buyers would be expected to re-emerge on a deeper pullback.

XRP sits below key EMAsXRP price trades at $1.111 on Friday, holding a bearish near-term bias as it sits below the 50-, 100-, and 200-day EMAs clustered overhead. The 50-day EMA at $1.143 is the nearest dynamic cap, with the longer 100-day EMA at $1.232 and the 200-day EMA at $1.440 reinforcing a broader downside structure, even as the RSI hovers near a neutral 49, and the MACD remains marginally positive, hinting at only modest countertrend buying interest.

On the topside, initial resistance is at the 50-day EMA near $1.143, followed by the 100-day EMA near $1.232; a stronger recovery would face further hurdles at the $1.300 horizontal barrier, ahead of the 200-day EMA at $1.440 and the distant $1.900 resistance line. 

On the downside, the first significant support emerges at the $1.000 psychological and horizontal level, where bulls would be expected to defend the broader range if selling pressure resumes.

(The technical analysis of this story was written with the help of an AI tool. Know more.)

Cryptocurrency metrics FAQs The developer or creator of each cryptocurrency decides on the total number of tokens that can be minted or issued. Only a certain number of these assets can be minted by mining, staking or other mechanisms. This is defined by the algorithm of the underlying blockchain technology. On the other hand, circulating supply can also be decreased via actions such as burning tokens, or mistakenly sending assets to addresses of other incompatible blockchains.

Market capitalization is the result of multiplying the circulating supply of a certain asset by the asset’s current market value.

Trading volume refers to the total number of tokens for a specific asset that has been transacted or exchanged between buyers and sellers within set trading hours, for example, 24 hours. It is used to gauge market sentiment, this metric combines all volumes on centralized exchanges and decentralized exchanges. Increasing trading volume often denotes the demand for a certain asset as more people are buying and selling the cryptocurrency.

Funding rates are a concept designed to encourage traders to take positions and ensure perpetual contract prices match spot markets. It defines a mechanism by exchanges to ensure that future prices and index prices periodic payments regularly converge. When the funding rate is positive, the price of the perpetual contract is higher than the mark price. This means traders who are bullish and have opened long positions pay traders who are in short positions. On the other hand, a negative funding rate means perpetual prices are below the mark price, and hence traders with short positions pay traders who have opened long positions.

Bitcoin hovered near the $65,000 mark on Friday as escalating Middle East tensions weighed on sentiment in the cryptocurrency market, while Ethereum also traded lower.

Bitcoin was trading at $65,345, while Ethereum was at $1,877.

Over the past 24 hours, Bitcoin declined 0.43% and Ethereum fell 2.23%. Among major altcoins, BNB, XRP, Solana, Hyperliquid, Dogecoin and Cardano dropped by as much as 4.09%, while Tron edged up 0.05%.

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Nischal Shetty, founder of WazirX, said that Bitcoin remained under pressure as geopolitical tensions in the Middle East dampened investor sentiment, prompting a shift toward safer assets. Ethereum also weakened, with traders closely monitoring institutional positioning and broader market uncertainty.

“Bitcoin's daily technical indicators remain neutral, with immediate support around $64,200–$64,500, while Futures traders are watching whether BTC can sustain a move back toward $66,000. For Ethereum traders, $1,840–$1,860 remains the key support zone, while $1,900 is the next major resistance,” Shetty further said.

The global crypto market capitalisation went down 0.7% to $2.22 trillion, according to CoinMarketCap.

Akshat Siddhant, Lead quant analyst, Mudrex said fresh attacks in the Middle East have pushed crude oil above $90 a barrel, while driving US bond yields to their highest levels in 18 months, weighing on risk assets.

Despite the weakness in price, US spot Bitcoin ETFs extended their inflow streak to seven consecutive sessions, attracting nearly $1 billion in total, Siddhant further said.

In the past week, Bitcoin and Ethereum were up 2.98% and 1.58% respectively. Among the major altcoins, BNB, Hyperliquid, and Dogecoin corrected upto 4.17% whereas XRP, Solana, Tron, and Cardano gained upto 4.47%.

Crypto markets are also facing pressure from tighter financial conditions. Bitcoin remains relatively stronger than Ethereum and major altcoins, with its four-hour structure constructive above $65,000, said Riya Sehgal, Research Analyst, Delta Exchange.

Here is what other analyst say

Vikram Subburaj, CEO, Giottus: Institutional demand has improved materially. US spot Bitcoin ETFs recorded approximately $999.3 million in inflows across seven consecutive positive sessions from July 14 to July 22. These inflows more than offset the $424.7 million outflow recorded on July 13. July 23 showed a preliminary $22.6 million outflow, although BlackRock’s IBIT figure remained unavailable.

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Avinash Shekhar, Co-Founder & CEO, Pi42: The latest correction across the crypto market reflects how quickly global geopolitical developments can influence investor sentiment across asset classes. Bitcoin’s pullback towards the mid $64,000 range, alongside weakness in Ethereum and other leading digital assets, comes amid heightened uncertainty following the escalation in the Iran conflict and a broader shift away from high-growth assets.

CoinSwitch Markets Desk: The July recovery could lose momentum if BTC fails to reclaim $65K, with the 21-day moving average near $64K acting as key support and $68K as the next major resistance. Investors may prefer disciplined positioning, limited leverage and gradual accumulation near support rather than chasing short-term rebounds.

(Disclaimer: Recommendations, suggestions, views and opinions given by the experts are their own. These do not represent the views of The Economic Times)

After its spectacular launch rally, Cash Cat is still losing ground; the token is currently trading at $0.046. The daily chart clearly shows that sellers are now in charge, as speculative buying pressure has virtually completely vanished. CASHCAT did not establish any significant consolidation after its initial surge toward the $0.20 region. Instead, a textbook downtrend has been created as each attempt at recovery has resulted in a lower high. 

This structure is reinforced by the most recent candle sequence, which shows that buyers were unable to withstand even the brief recovery toward $0.08. The chart's lack of accumulation following the collapse is among its most alarming features. Violent sell-offs of strong meme assets are frequently followed by protracted sideways trading as new buyers enter the market. 

CASHCAT/USDT Chart by TradingViewCASHCAT does not yet exhibit that behavior. Rather, the price keeps printing lower lows while daily volatility progressively decreases, indicating a decline in the activity of both buyers and sellers. Momentum indicators are still not very good. The token is kept below the neutral 50 level by the RSI, which is currently at 41.

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Although this reading is no longer oversold, it also shows no signs of a resurgence of bullish momentum. Every bounce runs the risk of turning into another brief relief rally rather than the start of a long-term reversal until the RSI rises back above 50. 

Currently, the main resistance zone is located between $0.06 and $0.08. Before it broke sharply, that area served as short-term support, so if the price rises, sellers are probably waiting there to sell their positions. The first technical indication that bears are starting to lose control would be reclaiming that range. The present lows around $0.045 are becoming more significant on the downside. 

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A clear breakdown below them would expose CASHCAT to yet another wave of price discovery lower, since the token would have no historical support. Even though long upper wicks occasionally indicate speculative buying attempts, the structure as a whole is still bearish. 

Although buyers frequently fail to sustain higher prices by the daily close, those spikes show that liquidity is still present. It seems likely that CASHCAT will continue to face pressure unless meme coin sentiment across the market significantly improves. Before any discussion of a wider trend reversal is technically warranted, bulls must set a higher low and recover the $0.06–$0.08 zone. 

Solana's stabilization effort After months of weakness, Solana is trying to stabilize, trading at about $76 and progressively forming a string of higher lows. Heavy resistance overhead continues to limit the broader trend, despite the chart's notable improvement since June's steep decline toward the low-$60 area. 

The relationship between price and the shorter moving averages is the most promising development. Both the 26-day and 50-day exponential moving averages have been successfully recovered by SOL, and they are now serving as dynamic support. The price has been consolidating above those levels for a number of sessions, suggesting that buyers are protecting recent gains rather than taking quick profits. The wider picture is still difficult, though. 

SOL/USDT Chart by TradingViewThe 100-day EMA is currently close to $80 and has consistently rejected attempts to rise throughout July. The 200-day EMA at $93 is still sloping downward even higher, highlighting the fact that the longer-term trend has not yet returned to bullish territory. Solana might benefit from the current $76 consolidation. 

The price is moving sideways while allowing moving averages to compress below, rather than extending vertically into resistance. If buying volume eventually reappears, this frequently lays the groundwork for a more forceful breakout attempt. The RSI is consistent with that interpretation. The indicator is close to 51, which is nearly neutral. This implies that momentum has bounced back from negative conditions without overheating. Before momentum enters overbought territory, bulls still have room to move higher. 

The area between $80 and $84, where the declining 100-day EMA intersects with earlier horizontal resistance, continues to be the center of immediate resistance. Reaching the $90 area, which is psychologically significant, would probably lead to a resurgence of optimism. The shorter moving averages are currently converging at $73–$74, where support has strengthened. 

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The recent recovery would be weakened if that area were lost, and SOL might return to the mid-$60 range. During the most recent consolidation, volume has progressively decreased, which is quite common following a recovery rally. Before anticipating a clear breakout, traders will probably wait for a discernible rise in buying activity. Compared to earlier this summer, Solana's technical picture has significantly improved overall. 

The asset has developed a positive base and is no longer in freefall. However, the recovery should be seen as an improving consolidation rather than the start of a confirmed long-term uptrend until SOL firmly breaks through the $80–$84 resistance zone.

XRP's difficult periodXRP has already encountered difficulties in its most recent breakout attempt. Sellers swiftly intervened and drove the asset back below the breakout level after it momentarily pushed above the upper boundary of its ascending triangle. The rejection implies that buyers are still not convinced enough to buck the general downward trend. Right now, XRP is trading at about $1.13, which is nearly exactly where several short-term moving averages converge. 

XRP/USDT Chart by TradingViewThe 50-day and 100-day moving averages are still higher at $1.16-$1.24, forming a dense supply zone, while the 26-day EMA is serving as immediate resistance. Upside is probably going to be restricted until XRP clears that cluster. Following the unsuccessful breakout, the daily RSI has fallen back below the neutral 50 level, indicating waning momentum. 

An indication that bulls are having trouble attracting new capital is the volume, which has remained comparatively muted. The rising trendline that supported the most recent consolidation is still the crucial level to watch on the downside. 

With psychological support at $1.00 becoming more crucial, a decisive daily close below it might invalidate the entire recovery structure and expose XRP to another move toward the $1.05 area. On the other hand, recovering $1.16 would boost confidence and restore access to the 50-day moving average.

Dogecoin's key weaknessDogecoin still appears to be substantially weaker than the majority of large-cap cryptocurrencies. The meme coin is trading close to $0.070, just above recent local lows, and it is still well below all of the daily chart's major moving averages. There is not much room for optimism in the technical structure. 

The 50-day, 100-day, and 26-day moving averages are all trending above the price, indicating that sellers are still in charge across all significant time periods. In contrast to XRP, DOGE has been grinding sideways following a protracted decline rather than establishing any convincing higher-low pattern. 

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The same weakness can be seen in momentum indicators. The RSI is below 40, a sign of bearish momentum that has not yet reached extremely oversold levels. If selling pressure picks up speed, that allows for an additional leg lower. 

Additionally, compared to the peaks observed during earlier rallies, volume has significantly decreased, indicating that speculative interest has essentially vanished. In the absence of new demand, recovery efforts are likely to be sold into. Recovering the 26-day EMA at $0.075 is the first obstacle for buyers. 

Stronger resistance emerges above that, close to the 50-day moving average at $0.078. If the current range is not maintained, DOGE may move toward the psychological $0.065 level, which would represent yet another major decline in its long-term structure. DOGE currently has one of the weakest-looking charts among major cryptocurrencies.

A recent video shared by Thomas Laresca, known as a crypto coach on X, has sparked considerable discussion within the XRP investor community. The video features a man who tells his wife he owns 10 million XRP. When asked if that amount is enough, he responds emphatically, “Fuck No.”

The push to accumulate more XRPThis short exchange has drawn attention not just for its humor, but for capturing a belief widely held among serious XRP investors: relentless accumulation is key, regardless of current holdings.

Notable figures in the XRP ecosystem continue to encourage investors to increase their exposure. Edoardo Farina, CEO of Alpha Lions Academy, has stated that holding less than 1,000 XRP represents “insanity” and advises aiming for 10,000 XRP as a threshold for those seeking significant profit opportunities. Financial analyst Brewer has echoed this sentiment, recommending every XRP holder keep at least 10,000 XRP in cold storage. Brewer maintains that XRP’s primary value may be as collateral to access liquidity, rather than a token to be sold swiftly for short-term profit.

Brewer has maintained that “10,000 XRP” should be considered a baseline for every serious investor’s cold storage, positioning XRP as collateral rather than a quick trade.

Within this framework, the notion of amassing 10 million XRP, as in the viral video, vastly exceeds even the most ambitious benchmarks commonly discussed by experts.

Where 10 million XRP ranks among global holdersRecent data compiled by XRP community member BagMan (@XRPBags) sheds light on how rare such a holding is. According to the most current XRP rich list, a wallet holding 2,155.87 XRP already ranks in the top 10% of all accounts. Climbing higher, 45,000 XRP places an investor in the top 1%, while a holding of 277,098.12 XRP is required to enter the top 0.1%, with just 7,999 accounts reaching this level.

Only those with over 3,714,074.61 XRP rank among the top 0.01%, a category with fewer than 800 wallets worldwide. Therefore, an account containing 10 million XRP is firmly positioned within this exclusive segment.

Investor percentileMinimum XRP heldApproximate number of walletsTop 10%2,155.87N/ATop 1%45,000N/ATop 0.1%277,098.127,999Top 0.01%3,714,074.61<800Mini dictionary: XRP rich list, a resource that provides distribution data by wallet balances to analyze asset concentration and investor tiers within the XRP network.

Long-term outlook and price aspirationsBased on current prices of $1.09 per token, a 10 million XRP holding equates to $10.9 million. Some analysts have predicted ambitious targets such as $27 per XRP, and a handful have suggested figures as high as $589. These projections, if realized, would turn such a holding into an asset worth hundreds of millions or even billions of dollars.

Regardless of price targets, the underlying message from most experts remains focused on long-term accumulation. The prevailing advice is to store assets in self-custody and prepare for potential future appreciation. The man featured in Laresca’s video, despite holding well above elite thresholds, appears to embody this prevailing mentality: no amount is ever truly enough for dedicated XRP adherents.

The consensus across much of the XRP community is to keep accumulating and focus on long-term strategies rather than short-term trades, a view echoed by several market specialists.

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

Ripple revealed that its University Blockchain Research Initiative (UBRI) has expanded to over 60 leading universities worldwide, underlining academia’s growing role in shaping blockchain innovation. This development was detailed in Ripple’s 2025–2026 Advancing Blockchain Research with Real-World Impact report, which underscored the influence of university-led projects in moving blockchain technology forward.

University-driven research shifts blockchain progressUBRI, launched in 2018 by Ripple, functions as a global research network connecting academic research to real-world blockchain applications. The initiative provides funding, technical support, educational resources, and fosters open-source collaboration, supporting both researchers and students focused on emerging blockchain technologies.

Ripple’s latest report identified three key areas where UBRI-supported researchers are making significant progress. The first area involves developing AI-powered financial infrastructure. Teams are exploring ways artificial intelligence can work with blockchain to automate payments, streamline financial decisions, and create autonomous agents—potentially transforming the way transactions take place.

AI integration in blockchain enables programmable, secure financial systems designed to simplify transactions and automate complex processes for future economic models.

This research positions blockchain as the core foundation behind intelligent, programmable, and secure financial platforms, especially as artificial intelligence takes on more sophisticated roles in finance.

From tokenization to quantum-secure blockchainsThe second major focus is on tokenized assets and digital markets. UBRI-sponsored university teams are developing mechanisms to represent and trade real-world assets—such as securities, real estate, and commodities—directly on blockchain platforms. This work aims to improve efficiency, increase market liquidity, reduce settlement times, and open up access to new investment opportunities across global markets.

Mini dictionary: Tokenization refers to the process of converting ownership of physical or digital assets—such as stocks, real estate, or artwork—into tradable digital tokens on a blockchain, enabling easier transfer, fractional ownership, and improved liquidity.

Asset TypeTraditional TransferTokenized TransferSecuritiesSeveral daysNear-instantReal EstateWeeks/monthsMinutes/hoursCommoditiesIntermediaries requiredPeer-to-peerThe third area involves post-quantum cryptography, as advancements in quantum computing could eventually compromise current encryption standards. UBRI-affiliated researchers are working on new cryptographic techniques designed to safeguard blockchain networks and digital assets against potential quantum threats in the future.

Mini dictionary: Post-quantum cryptography involves developing cryptographic algorithms capable of resisting decryption by quantum computers, which could eventually break many existing encryption methods.

Ripple strengthens industry-academic collaborationRipple highlighted that the ongoing expansion of UBRI demonstrates a shift in blockchain research from purely theoretical studies to practical, actionable solutions. By growing its university network, Ripple aims to support the next generation of blockchain developers, economists, policymakers, and business founders.

Ripple, whose flagship digital asset is XRP, has also bolstered its reputation in the fintech sector. CEO Brad Garlinghouse recently stated that XRP’s settlement speed reduces transaction risks for financial institutions when compared to conventional SWIFT-based transfers. Ripple was recognized again in 2024 on the list of the World’s Top Fintech Companies by CNBC and Statista, marking the fourth year it has received this distinction.

Ripple’s strategy emphasizes fusing academic research with enterprise adoption, seeking to make blockchain a foundational element of global finance in the years ahead.

With UBRI’s ongoing expansion and continued academic partnerships, Ripple continues to position itself at the intersection of research, education, and industry application, supporting wider adoption of blockchain technology across global financial markets.

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

Ripple made a strategic investment in Notabene Wednesday to expand compliant stablecoin payments, even as XRP (CRYPTO: XRP) dropped 3% after a cup and handle breakout failed on the daily chart.

What Is Notabene And Why Did Ripple Invest?According to a press release, Notabene runs the world’s largest open network for regulated on-chain transactions, connecting more than 2,300 institutions across 100-plus jurisdictions and processing over $2 trillion in annualized transaction volume. 

The network handles Travel Rule compliance alongside broader transaction verification and authorization, which is exactly the infrastructure banks need before moving value on-chain.

Ripple invested because institutional stablecoin adoption has hit a specific wall: firms know they want to use stablecoins but cannot do it safely at scale within their existing compliance frameworks. Notabene’s network solves that problem.

“Stablecoins are quickly becoming part of mainstream financial infrastructure, but institutional adoption depends on more than efficient settlement rails alone,” said Jack McDonald, SVP of Stablecoin at Ripple. 

“It requires trusted identity, compliance, and transaction authorization before value moves,” he added.

How Does This Expand RLUSD’s Reach?The partnership integrates RLUSD into Notabene Flow, the company’s B2B stablecoin payments platform that enables payment coordination, pull payments, recurring payments, and automated invoicing for institutions. 

Ripple Payments and Notabene’s authorization capabilities will also explore deeper integration.

Notabene CEO Pelle Braendgaard said the combination of Notabene’s compliance network with RLUSD and Ripple’s global payments reach turns stablecoin adoption from a pilot program into a real growth engine that reaches more counterparties and moves more volume faster.

Why Is XRP Down 3% Despite The News?XRP dropped 3% as the cup and handle breakout that traders were watching has failed.

Price sliced back below the 50-day EMA at $1.14 and is now sitting on the 20-day EMA at $1.11, the last line before the setup is fully invalidated.

The pattern is a classic failed breakout. Price pushed above the handle, trapped late buyers at higher levels, then reversed sharply with those trapped buyers now driving the selling.

A daily close below the 20-day EMA at $1.11 fully confirms the failure and puts $1.05 back in play quickly. 

Bulls need to reclaim $1.14 to even begin rebuilding the case. The daily candle is still open, and a recovery close above $1.12 keeps the setup alive.

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Rising Futures OI raises both breakout hopes and liquidation risks.

Ripple’s XRP is back in the spotlight! The token has gained attention from both Futures traders and ETF investors, even though its price has yet to show strength.

Is there a rally underway, or are traders taking on excessive risk too early?

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Home Ripple XRP Futures heat up but price stalls below $1.15 – Here’s why

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THE STREET: XRP is down 69%, yet millionaires are buying

XRP is at a pivotal technical level, according to prominent market analyst EGRAG CRYPTO, who identified the asset’s recent move out of a multi-year symmetrical triangle as a key step in its bullish cycle. At $1.10, XRP faces an important macro breakout retest that could set the stage for significant price appreciation if critical support and resistance levels are maintained.

Key technical zones and price targetsEGRAG CRYPTO, known for his technical analysis of cryptocurrencies, underscored the importance of the $0.85–$0.88 support area for XRP. He described this region as a high-confluence technical zone, aligning with the lower boundary of the former symmetrical triangle chart pattern, the so-called White Bridge support, the monthly 111 Exponential Moving Average (EMA), and the projected retest level.

The analyst advised that a brief move below this support would not necessarily disrupt the long-term bullish scenario, but sustained monthly closes under this range could undermine XRP’s outlook. EGRAG also pointed to the monthly 21 EMA and the $1.23 to $1.65 resistance range as pivotal levels for confirming the end of the market’s correction phase.

Defending the $0.85–$0.88 support, reclaiming $1.23, breaking above $1.65, and reaching the $3.00–$3.50 resistance area are crucial milestones for XRP’s path toward a $6.40 rally.

If these milestones are achieved and XRP regains acceptance above its previous all-time highs, EGRAG believes the path could open toward a long-term price target of $30, provided the technical structure remains intact. These projections, however, rely on XRP’s ability to validate each step along the technical roadmap.

LevelSignificance$0.85–$0.88Primary support zone$1.23–$1.65Key resistance band$3.00–$3.50Major resistance area$6.40Initial upward target$30Long-term measured targetMarket fundamentals and growing demandBeyond technical indicators, the macro environment for XRP is also becoming more constructive. Whale selling has decreased significantly, removing a major source of selling pressure in recent months. At the same time, the XRP Ledger (XRPL) has surpassed 1.4 million AI agent transactions, indicating rising adoption of automated payments and integration with machine-driven finance applications.

Mini dictionary: XRP Ledger (XRPL), an open-source blockchain designed for fast and low-cost cross-border payments, powers the XRP cryptocurrency and supports functions tailored for financial institutions, such as decentralized asset issuance and settlement.

Institutional interest is also showing signs of strength. A recent report noted that clients of Franklin Templeton—an established global asset management firm—purchased approximately $5.66 million in XRP through their exchange-traded fund (ETF) products. This accumulation by major investors indicates continued confidence in XRP despite broader market volatility.

With dwindling whale selling and institutional accumulation on the rise, along with increased usage of XRPL for AI-powered transactions, several supportive trends are converging to bolster XRP’s technical setup.

Outlook for XRP’s next moveEGRAG emphasizes that the $0.85–$0.88 support and the $1.23–$1.65 resistance will act as immediate indicators for any renewed bullish momentum. If XRP sustains these levels and reclaims higher ground, the probability of reaching the $6.40 target may increase.

The broader uptrend will depend on the asset’s reaction to these technical markers, particularly as external market conditions and investor sentiment continue to influence cryptocurrency prices.

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 National Cryptocurrency Association (NCA), a nonprofit backed by Ripple Labs and focused on expanding crypto education, published research estimating the economic impact of the cryptocurrency industry in the United States for 2026. Working with analytic firm Pragmatic Policy Group, the NCA calculated that salaries, worker spending, and overall output from the sector are set to inject $55 billion into the US economy this year.

Data on crypto employment and economic impactThe Pragmatic Policy Group’s report measured the crypto sector’s role across direct, indirect, and induced employment, highlighting its growing relevance. The analysis found that about 34,000 people are directly employed by crypto companies in the US. Factoring in supply chain jobs and spending by workers, the total number of jobs supported rises to 232,000 across the economy.

Compared to other industries, direct employment in US crypto companies now surpasses the number of jobs in sectors like coffee and tea manufacturing and aerospace, as shown by US Bureau of Labor Statistics data.

The NCA emphasized that “investments in securities and commodity contracts” generated $9.7 billion, making it the largest single sector by economic contribution, followed by “housing and real estate,” which accounted for $4.8 billion in combined value.

Several states stand out for crypto-related employment. Texas, Washington, North Carolina, California, and New York support the most industry jobs. Colorado is described as a “growing blockchain hub” due to supportive regulation, while North Dakota is emerging as an “energy-integrated digital infrastructure hub” based on its favorable tax environment for crypto mining and progressive flare gas policies.

The NCA was founded in March 2025, aiming to promote consumer awareness and understanding of digital assets. With $50 million in funding from Ripple, the group is headed by Ripple’s chief legal officer, Stuart Alderoty.

Mini dictionary: Flare gas policies are regulations governing the capture or use of natural gas produced as a byproduct during oil extraction, which is often flared (burned off). Policies allowing for crypto mining operations to use this otherwise wasted energy have attracted mining ventures to some states.

CategoryEconomic ContributionInvestments in securities and commodity contracts$9.7 billionHousing and real estate (combined)$4.8 billionThe industry experienced multiple shutdowns in 2026Despite its strong economic contribution, the crypto industry has also faced headwinds in 2026, with several digital asset projects ceasing operations. Companies cited market volatility, scaling difficulties, and operational costs as reasons for closing.

In January, New York-based crypto start-up Entropy ended operations after four years. Singapore’s decentralized email platform Dmail began shutting down in May, mentioning the unsustainable costs of bandwidth, storage, and computing resources. Other closures included decentralized governance platform Tally and Balancer Labs, both of which closed in March.

Numerous crypto companies have ended operations in 2026 due to financial difficulties and a challenging market environment, according to industry statements.

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

Ripple has announced the launch of Ripple Mint, a new platform designed to help expand institutional access to its RLUSD stablecoin. The launch empowers customers with additional options for minting, redeeming and managing RLUSD both manually and via automated integrations.

Ripple Launches New Platform To Promote RLUSD’s Institutional Use According to the launch, “Ripple Mint is here – a unified way for institutions to access, mint, redeem, and manage Ripple USD (RLUSD).” The company notes that stablecoins are becoming an increasingly important asset class for trading, payments and treasury management, and consequently demand for flexible access to these assets is growing.

For context, RLUSD stablecoin is issued under Standard Custody & Trust Company LLC, a trust company chartered by the New York Department of Financial Services (NYDFS). The structure is “regulated” and offers the transparency and oversight that institutional customers need, Ripple said.

Meet Ripple Mint.

A unified platform for institutions to access, mint, redeem, and manage $RLUSD.

Built for scale with both UI and API access, Ripple Mint gives institutions the flexibility to automate stablecoin operations, integrate RLUSD into existing systems, and manage…

— Ripple (@Ripple) July 23, 2026

Ripple Mint offers two options for institutions: Web-Based or Direct Connect via API. This is a way of working that helps businesses that require automation with traditional operational controls, the company said.

Using the platform, institutions can mint and redeem RLUSD. They can also transfer the stablecoin from one supported blockchain to another. In addition, it will allow institutions to track the transactions from their creation to maturity, and incorporate RLUSD activities into current systems.

Meanwhile, Ripple also invested in Notabene to further boost RLUSD’s institutional access.

A Look At Other Latest Features Ripple also unveiled new APIs and webhook notifications. These features enable users to check the status of their transactions, check account balance programatically, and get real-time updates at various stages of minting and redemption. Each workflow employs uniform reference IDs to enhance visibility in fiat and blockchain transactions, the firm said.

The company said, “Through new APIs and webhook notifications, customers can now integrate RLUSD workflows directly into their own systems, enabling automation, operational visibility, and easier reconciliation.”

The implementation also aligns with RLUSD’s growing multichain initiative. The stablecoin is now expanding beyond the XRP Ledger and Ethereum to the XRPL EVM Sidechain, Base, Optimism, Ink and Unichain, Ripple said.

The XRPL EVM Sidechain was highlighted as a crucial component of the company’s strategy. For context, the sidechain will give developers the ability to support EVMs while maintaining a strong connection with the XRP Ledger ecosystem.

The expansion will expand the availability of RLUSD on crypto exchanges, decentralized finance protocols, payment applications, and new on-chain financial infrastructure, Ripple said. The company states that XRP and RLUSD would be used synergically in Liquidity, Settlement, Collateral, Swaps and Payments.

They also said that the platform is already available for existing users. It added, “Ripple Mint is available to existing RLUSD customers today.”

Ripple has launched Ripple Mint, an institutional-grade platform that consolidates institutional management of the company’s official stablecoin, Ripple USD (RLUSD).

Previously, corporate entities had to conduct their RLUSD-related transactions manually on fragmented platforms. This increased difficulty in organizing and coordinating their crypto activities. Ripple Mint solves all this by presenting itself as a unified central management hub from which users can access, mint, and redeem RLUSD into fiat currency. 

Ripple Mint unifies corporate RLUSD transactionsThe software enables users to transact the stablecoin across multiple chains, including the XRP Ledger (XRPL), Ethereum, and prominent Layer-2 scaling networks such as Base and Optimism. It features programmatic webhook notifications and unified reference IDs to track transactions at its various stages: fiat receipt, token minting, on-chain settlement, and payment completion.

Institutions can access Ripple Mint via its official dashboard or connect it to their software using application programming interfaces (APIs). The console will serve a wide array of organizations, including crypto exchanges, market makers, payment providers, and fintech companies.

As Ripple notes, RLUSD operations on Ripple Mint are backed by standard compliance. The stablecoin is issued by the Standard Custody & Trust Company, a heavily regulated, institutional-grade financial services company. Additionally, RLUSD is regulated under the New York State Department of Financial Services (NYDFS).

Additional achievementsLaunched nearly two years ago, the RLUSD stablecoin has grown to be one of the top 10 stablecoins by market cap ($1.59 billion). It has recorded a trading volume of $123.38 million in the past 24 hours and is listed on several high-profile exchanges, including Kraken, Bitstamp and Bullish.

The introduction of Ripple Mint will now streamline corporate access and management of the stablecoin, likely increasing its international footprint and use in high-demand corridors.

Story Ends Here

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Ripple has announced a strategic investment in Notabene, a regulated on-chain transaction network, as part of efforts to promote the adoption of RLUSD in institutional stablecoin payments.

Partnership aims for compliance and scaleThrough this collaboration, Ripple will integrate RLUSD, its dollar-backed stablecoin, into Notabene Flow, Notabene’s dedicated B2B stablecoin payments platform. Notabene’s system focuses on providing regulated transaction infrastructure and compliance tools to financial institutions.

By integrating RLUSD within Notabene Flow, both companies intend to streamline stablecoin-based payments for enterprises while addressing regulatory requirements and risk controls.

Ripple, best known for its global payments and blockchain solutions, developed RLUSD to offer financial institutions a compliant and efficient stablecoin option for business transactions.

Mini dictionary: Notabene, a Swiss-based company, connects regulated financial institutions and digital asset platforms worldwide with a focus on on-chain transaction compliance and verification.

Infrastructure and regulatory obligationsNotabene operates a network that enables regulated digital asset transactions, connecting over 2,300 institutions across more than 100 jurisdictions. The platform reportedly supports $2 trillion in annualized transaction volume and offers comprehensive compliance, identity verification, and transaction authorization tools required by financial institutions.

As more financial entities explore stablecoins for payments, they face increasing challenges related to regulatory standards, compliance, and verification of transaction parties. Notabene’s solution seeks to address these hurdles before any fund transfers take place.

CompanyCore ServiceInstitutions ConnectedJurisdictionsAnnual Transaction VolumeNotabeneOn-chain transaction compliance2,300+100+$2 trillionRippleEnterprise payments, stablecoinsN/A (focus on global enterprise)GlobalN/AVoices from Ripple and NotabeneJack McDonald, Senior Vice President of Stablecoin at Ripple, emphasized the need for robust compliance and identity procedures, stating that technological efficiency alone is not enough for stablecoins to achieve widespread institutional adoption. He pointed to the importance of transaction authorization and ongoing compliance for enabling responsible and scalable use.

Jack McDonald explained that settlement rails must be supported by strong compliance, identity, and transaction authorization for institutional stablecoins to move fully into the mainstream.

Pelle Braendgaard, CEO of Notabene, observed that most institutions have progressed past the evaluation stage and are now focused on integrating stablecoins into their operations while fulfilling complex regulatory and compliance requirements.

Pelle Braendgaard noted that financial institutions are now focused on implementing stablecoins within their existing workflows and maintaining regulatory compliance, rather than simply assessing their utility.

Outlook and regulatory momentumThis investment by Ripple comes as regulated stablecoin infrastructure sees significant expansion, driven by new frameworks including the GENIUS Act in the United States and Europe’s MiCA rules. Both Ripple and Notabene indicated plans to continue building out Notabene Flow’s availability for financial institutions worldwide, aiming to facilitate compliant, cross-border stablecoin payments at larger scale.

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.

After several months of extreme volatility that has caused futures traders across the crypto derivatives market to trade with caution, it appears that traders are becoming more active in XRP futures again.

Latest data from crypto analytics platform CryptoQuant shows that XRP leverage trading on Binance is rising following the recent rebound in its price.

XRP OI spikes to 440.6 million tokensThe data further revealed that the 30-day Open Interest Z-Score for XRP futures has surged to about 1.60 on Binance. This suggests that open interest is now well above its average over the past month. 

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Moreover, XRP open interest on the exchange has surged to about 440.6 million XRP, while its 30-day moving average has also surged to 418.5 million XRP, as XRP continues to trade near $1.14.

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The increase in Binance XRP derivative activity suggests that more traders are opening new futures positions amid growing confidence and optimism over XRP's next price move.

While this provides a bullish outlook for XRP, analysts note that the surge in futures activity does not guarantee a price rally. However, it shows that market participants are becoming more confident in opening new leveraged positions after a long period of extreme caution.

When will the XRP price break out?It is important to note that XRP spot activity has yet to mimic the renewed optimism seen in the futures market, causing its price to remain at local low levels.

Market analysts believe that the divergence between XRP rising open interest and a stable price move could mean that the market is building up for a larger price move. 

As such, if the price of XRP increases in correspondence with its rising open interest, this could trigger a strengthening bullish conviction among traders, leading to sustained buying momentum that could drive the price toward a major breakout.

XRP has arrived at a critical technical point, with its recent rebound drawing close attention from market analysts who see this juncture as pivotal in determining the token’s short-term direction. Crypto strategist CasiTrades stated that key resistance and support levels now stand to either confirm a broad trend reversal or reinforce the prevailing bearish structure.

Wave 2 correction tests critical resistanceCasiTrades identified XRP’s current movement as a “Wave 2 correction” within the Elliott Wave framework, noting that the retracement has now reached the 0.854 Fibonacci level, positioning the price precisely at $1.16. She regarded this as a significant but acceptable retracement for the correction phase, according to technical analysis standards.

The analyst emphasized that the outlook for a deeper decline would only change if XRP surpasses $1.20. She indicated that this level acts as a definitive price ceiling for the ongoing bearish scenario displayed on her chart. As long as XRP fails to record a new high above this threshold, the current expectation for continued downward movement remains intact.

On her chart, CasiTrades highlighted repeated rejections near $1.164 and projected possible moves toward the next lower supports, underlining the significance of these thresholds. She further mapped resistance levels above the current price, which must be overtaken for any sustained bullish reversal to gain confirmation.

RSI divergence strengthens the bearish stanceMomentum indicators continue to play a supporting role in the overall analysis. CasiTrades reported that the approach to $1.164 produced bearish divergences on the Relative Strength Index (RSI) across several timeframes. This technical pattern occurs when the price makes a higher high while momentum does not follow, which is frequently interpreted as a signal of weakening buying pressure and a possible precursor to downward momentum.

These momentum signals—combined with price action at resistance—have led CasiTrades to anticipate that XRP could accelerate toward lower price levels if the bearish thesis remains valid. Such a scenario would see the token testing underlying support areas in the near term.

This ‘Wave 2 correction’ has now reached an 0.854 retrace, precisely at $1.16. Though it’s a deep move, it still fits within Elliott Wave correction parameters, so the bearish scenario is intact unless $1.20 is broken.

Key levels to watch and tools for market monitoringIf the price fails to reclaim key thresholds, CasiTrades marked $0.93 and $0.87 as the next significant support zones. She signaled that a drop toward these levels could strengthen the current trend and potentially attract buyers looking for an opportunity at lower valuations.

Conversely, an advance above $1.20 would invalidate the primary bearish scenario, while a breakout past $1.30 would neutralize another alternative downward pattern, potentially clearing a path to $1.65—a level she described as major macro resistance. Only after such breakouts could traders anticipate a broader uptrend gaining traction.

In discussing the importance of monitoring these technical developments, CasiTrades reminded market participants to prioritize data-driven decisions over emotions. For traders looking to effectively track trends and respond swiftly, tools offering integrated price monitoring, prompt alerts, chart analysis, and filtered news have become essential. CryptoAppsy, which requires no account creation hassle, combines your crypto investments with real-time prices, detailed charts, and multi-currency portfolio management on a single screen. With this all-in-one financial assistant, you can instantly seize opportunities by setting up smart price alerts, filter news specific to your coins, discover newly listed altcoins without missing them, and always stay one step ahead of the market with critical macroeconomic data such as Fed interest rates.

For now, the purple bearish scenario continues to play out as long as XRP remains below $1.20. Breaking above $1.20 or $1.30 would shift the outlook, but traders should rely on actual price action when making decisions.

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 crossed 1.4 million AI-agent transactions this week, and Ripple joined Visa, Mastercard, and Google at the table writing the standard behind them. The milestone is real. So is the arithmetic underneath it: at a fifth of a cent per transaction, the entire agentic economy on XRPL has generated about $280 in fees, and the chain it is chasing has a hundred-times head start.

Summary

The XRP Ledger has processed more than 1.4 million transactions initiated by AI agents, a milestone announced by RippleX’s head of engineering as Ripple ships developer tooling for autonomous payments in XRP and RLUSD. The infrastructure behind it is x402, an open protocol reviving HTTP’s dormant “402 Payment Required” code: a service quotes a price, an agent’s wallet signs and pays, the content or compute delivers, no account, card, or human in the loop. Ripple joined the Linux Foundation’s new x402 Foundation as one of 40 premier members alongside AWS, Google, Visa, Mastercard, Stripe, Circle, and Coinbase, and was named a launch partner for Mastercard’s agent-payments network. The audit matters as much as the milestone: at XRPL’s fixed $0.0002 fee, 1.4 million agent transactions represent roughly $280 in total network fees, while Coinbase’s Base has processed 119 million x402 payments and Solana about 35 million, overwhelmingly settled in USDC. The strategic question is the oldest one in the ecosystem wearing its newest costume: even if machine payments become enormous and XRPL wins a share, agents will transact in stablecoins, and what that does for the XRP token is exactly as unresolved as ever. Every technology cycle produces a moment when a real trend and a modest number get announced in the same sentence, and the reader’s job is to hold both without letting either erase the other. The XRP Ledger delivered this cycle’s cleanest example this week. The trend: autonomous AI agents, software that requests a service, receives a price, and pays for it with no human in the loop, are now transacting on public blockchains at meaningful frequency, under an open standard that Amazon, Google, Visa, and Mastercard have just formed a foundation to govern. The number: the XRP Ledger’s share of that future crossed 1.4 million transactions, which, at the ledger’s fixed fee of roughly two-hundredths of a cent, works out to about $280 in total fees, on a network whose leading competitor has processed over a hundred million of the same payments with a year’s head start. Ripple’s engineering leadership frames the moment with a cloud-computing analogy, early days, obvious potential, standards still forming, and the analogy is fair, which is precisely why the honest piece about this milestone is neither the press release nor the dunk. It is the audit: what is actually being built, what the numbers actually measure, and what, if all of it works, actually accrues to whom.

LATEST: Visa and OpenAI team up for secure agent-driven payments in AI commerce. Tokenized credentials allow autonomous transactions through Visa’s global network pic.twitter.com/VBssfwA5Gi

— crypto.news (@cryptodotnews) June 11, 2026 The machinery: what x402 actually is The protocol at the center of the story is elegant enough to explain in a paragraph, and its elegance is why the giants showed up.

When the web’s founders drafted HTTP in the 1990s, they reserved status code 402, Payment Required, for a payments layer the internet never built. Every online payment since has been a workaround: accounts, cards, subscriptions, API keys, invoices, all of them designed for humans with wallets and none of them usable by software that wants to buy one API call’s worth of data right now. x402, developed at Coinbase and contributed this month to a new Linux Foundation body, finally implements the dormant code. A service receiving a request from an unpaid client responds with 402 and a machine-readable quote: the price, the accepted asset, the receiving address. The requesting agent’s wallet signs and broadcasts the payment on a supported blockchain; the service verifies settlement and delivers. No account creation, no card on file, no human approval, no minimum viable subscription. Payment becomes a header, and commerce becomes something two pieces of software conclude in seconds.

The governance followed the code. The x402 Foundation launched on July 14 under the Linux Foundation with roughly 40 premier members, a list that reads like the payments establishment buying insurance on its own disruption: AWS, Google, Visa, Mastercard, Stripe, Circle, Coinbase, and, as of this month, Ripple. Membership is the context for everything Ripple has shipped around it: the XRPL AI Starter Kit released in June, packaging wallet integration, documentation servers, and payment tutorials for agent developers; the XRPL AI Hub launched by Ripple-backed t54.ai; support for agent payments in both XRP and the RLUSD stablecoin; and a slot among the thirty-plus launch partners of Mastercard’s own agent-payments network. The XRPL’s technical pitch for the workload is coherent: deterministic finality in three to five seconds, fees fixed at fractions of a cent, native escrow and multisignature support, and a built-in exchange, properties that suit high-frequency machine payments better than they ever suited the retail speculation the ledger mostly hosts. RippleX’s head of engineering, J. Ayo Akinyele, announced the million-transaction crossing with the early-cloud framing: “The potential was obvious, but the tooling and standards were still coming together.” As positioning, it is exactly right. As measurement, it invites the next section.

The audit: what 1.4 million transactions weighs Take the milestone apart with the ledger’s own arithmetic, because the exercise clarifies what is and is not being claimed.

XRPL transaction fees are fixed near $0.0002. One million four hundred thousand agentic transactions therefore generated on the order of $280 in total network fees, a number that is not a gotcha but a measurement: it says the agentic activity on XRPL to date is, economically, a rounding error, and that transaction count on a chain where transactions cost nothing is a metric that measures enthusiasm and testing at least as much as commerce. At two-hundredths of a cent, a single developer’s integration test suite, a hackathon weekend, or an agent pinging a demo API in a loop produces six-figure transaction counts for the price of a coffee. Some unknowable share of the 1.4 million is exactly that, which the more careful voices in the ecosystem, including t54’s own framing of the milestone as showing capability, implicitly concede. The honest description is that XRPL has proven the pipes work, not that anything economically significant flows through them yet.

The comparative table sharpens the same point. Coinbase’s Base network has processed more than 119 million x402 payments; Solana roughly 35 million; both had approximately a year’s head start, and both settle the overwhelming majority of that volume in USDC. Even the leader’s economics remain tiny, industry tallies put cumulative settled x402 volume in the tens of millions of dollars, an average well under a dollar per payment, which confirms the category is micropayments in fact as well as theory. But the ordering matters: XRPL’s 1.4 million against Base’s 119 million is a roughly hundred-fold gap in the category XRPL is now marketing as a strategic fit, and gaps of that shape, in developer-network businesses, historically widen rather than close, because agent frameworks integrate the chains where the other agents already are. The XRP ecosystem has run this race before, shipping credible infrastructure into a category with an entrenched leader and discovering that technical fitness does not conjure developer gravity; the EVM sidechain’s first year, which this publication audited at $25,741 in total value locked, is the cautionary precedent nobody at the milestone party mentions.

And beneath both numbers sits the question this ecosystem can never quite escape, because it is the question: who earns what if this works? Agents transacting under x402 optimize for stable settlement, which is why USDC dominates the category everywhere it exists, and on XRPL the natural settlement asset is RLUSD, whose reserve income accrues to Ripple the company. The XRP token’s role in the flow is gas, priced at two-hundredths of a cent by design, and collateral-adjacent plumbing, which means the milestone’s implicit promise, more agent activity equals more value through XRP, runs directly into the fee math above: a billion agentic transactions a year, a seven-hundred-fold increase from today’s total, would generate roughly $200,000 in annual XRP fee burn. The value-accrual gap between network success and token performance, the gap this publication has documented across payments, custody, and DeFi, arrives in the AI era fully intact. Machine commerce may be enormous. XRPL may even win a real share. The token’s claim on that outcome remains what it has always been: a thesis in search of a mechanism.

The case that the position is still right Having weighed the milestone honestly, weigh the strategy the same way, because the audit cuts against the hype without cutting against the play.

Standards tables are cheap options on large futures. Ripple’s premier membership costs it engineering attention and puts XRP and RLUSD inside the specification process of a payment standard that AWS, Google, Visa, and Mastercard consider worth governing, which is not a marketing decision on their part; the agent-payments category is the rare crypto use case that the traditional payments industry believes in enough to pre-organize around. If machine-to-machine commerce becomes a fraction of what its backers project, the chains and assets wired into the standard from the beginning inherit distribution no retrofit can buy, and the Mastercard launch-partner slot is exactly that wiring. The early-cloud analogy earns its keep here: AWS’s revenue in 2008 was a rounding error too, and the companies that dismissed it on contemporary arithmetic were measuring the wrong thing.

The technical fit argument is also better than the ecosystem’s average claim of this genre. Agent payments genuinely want what XRPL genuinely has: deterministic sub-five-second finality, fees that never spike, native escrow for conditional payments, and an architecture that has processed payments, only payments, for a decade without an outage that mattered. The chains currently leading the category are general-purpose platforms on which payments compete with everything else for blockspace; a specialized settlement layer is a coherent bet on how the category matures, particularly for the enterprise and financial-institution agents Ripple’s distribution actually reaches, as opposed to the consumer-crypto agents Base inherits from Coinbase. And RLUSD’s presence in the standard is unambiguously valuable for Ripple’s stablecoin strategy, whatever it does for the token: every x402 flow RLUSD settles is float, and float is the business.

The bear case concedes all of this and returns to the ledger’s oldest pattern: infrastructure fitness without developer gravity, milestones denominated in counts rather than dollars, and value accruing to the company faster than to the asset. Both cases are live. The difference between them will not be argued into resolution; it will be measured, which is what the final section is for.

The stablecoin sitting in the middle One participant in this story holds a materially different position from all the others, and the analysis owes it a section: RLUSD, which enters the agent-payments race with none of XRP’s value-accrual problem and all of Ripple’s distribution behind it.

The economics of a stablecoin in machine commerce are the economics every issuer already understands, at higher frequency. Each RLUSD that settles agent payments is float, reserves earning treasury yield for the issuer, and agentic flows have a property consumer flows lack: balances that never sleep. A human cardholder’s stablecoins sit idle between purchases; an agent’s working balance turns over continuously, but the aggregate float across a fleet of funded agents is persistent, programmatic, and grows with the category mechanically. If machine payments become a fraction of what the foundation’s membership implies, the stablecoins wired into the standard become the category’s silent tax collectors, and the fight for that position is already visible in the data: USDC’s dominance of Base and Solana x402 volume is Circle collecting the early category almost uncontested. RLUSD’s presence in the XRPL implementation, and in whatever flows the Mastercard partnership eventually routes, is Ripple’s bid for a share, and it is a better bid than the transaction counts suggest, because the enterprise agents Ripple’s institutional relationships reach will care about exactly the things RLUSD was chartered to offer: a regulated issuer, bank-grade reserves, and a compliance posture that a corporate treasury can sign off on.

LATEST: Ripple joins Mastercard’s Agent Pay for Machines launch. XRP Ledger and $RLUSD are positioned to deliver trust, controls, and clear rules for AI agents handling business payments at scale pic.twitter.com/3YargyVJHb

— crypto.news (@cryptodotnews) June 11, 2026 Which sharpens, not softens, the token question this piece keeps returning to. The clearer RLUSD’s path in agent payments becomes, the more precisely the ecosystem’s value routing resolves: the category’s fees go to nearly nothing by design, the float goes to Ripple, and the XRP token’s participation is the $0.0002 toll. There is one construction under which the token does capture something, XRP as the bridge and liquidity asset when agents transact across currencies, using the ledger’s native exchange, which is the on-ledger version of the company’s oldest thesis, and it carries the oldest caveat: it requires agents to hold and route through a volatile asset when a stable one is available, a behavior no current x402 flow exhibits anywhere. Watching whether it ever emerges, in the cross-currency settlement data the ledger makes public, is the cleanest token-relevant observable this whole story offers. Absent it, the honest summary of the agent era for the two assets is uncomfortable and simple: the milestone is XRPL’s, the business is RLUSD’s, and the token is, once again, the venue, not the beneficiary.

What to watch Settled volume, not transaction count. The category’s honest metric is dollars settled through x402 flows on XRPL, a number nobody currently headlines precisely because it is small. When it appears, in t54’s reporting, foundation dashboards, or Ripple’s disclosures, it converts this story from enthusiasm-measurement to commerce-measurement. Until it appears, transaction counts should be read as what they are.

The settlement-asset split. Watch what share of XRPL agentic payments settle in RLUSD versus XRP, and what share of cross-chain x402 volume RLUSD captures against USDC’s incumbency. The first ratio prices the token’s role in its own ecosystem’s newest story; the second prices Ripple’s stablecoin against the category leader on neutral ground.

A commercial workload with a name. The milestone that would actually move this story is one identifiable production deployment, an enterprise paying real money for real services through XRPL agent rails, versus the anonymous aggregate counts. Mastercard’s network going live with Ripple in the loop is the likeliest venue. One named workload outweighs the next ten million test transactions.

The gap’s direction. Base at 119 million and growing; XRPL at 1.4 million and growing. The ratio between their growth rates over the next two quarters answers the developer-gravity question empirically, and it is the same question the EVM sidechain’s first year answered badly. Watch whether this category rhymes.

The 402 status code waited thirty years for the internet to need it, which is a useful reminder that infrastructure stories run on timelines that make any single milestone nearly meaningless. The XRP Ledger’s 1.4 million agent transactions prove the machinery works and prove nothing about who wins, the $280 in fees prices today’s reality without pricing the future, and the foundation seat is a rational option on an outcome no one can yet measure. The audit’s conclusion is not that the story is false. It is that the story is, so far, exactly $280 large, and that everyone quoting the transaction count owes the fee line alongside it.

Disclaimer: This article is for information and educational purposes only and does not constitute financial or investment advice. It describes early-stage technology adoption whose metrics are incomplete and fast-changing, and comparisons rely on figures reported by third parties. Nothing here is a recommendation to buy, sell, or hold any asset. Always do your own research. Information is accurate as of July 23, 2026.

Frequently Asked Questions What is x402? An open payment protocol that implements HTTP’s long-dormant 402 “Payment Required” status code. When software requests a paid service, the server responds with a machine-readable quote, price, accepted asset, receiving address; the requester’s wallet signs and sends payment on a supported blockchain, and the service delivers upon settlement. It was developed at Coinbase and contributed to the Linux Foundation’s x402 Foundation, launched July 14 with about 40 premier members including AWS, Google, Visa, Mastercard, Stripe, Circle, and Ripple.

What did the XRP Ledger milestone actually announce? That more than 1 million transactions initiated by AI agents have been processed on the XRPL, a figure now around 1.4 million, announced by RippleX engineering head J. Ayo Akinyele alongside the XRPL AI Starter Kit, tooling that connects agents to wallets, payments, escrow, and documentation, with support for paying in XRP and RLUSD. Ripple also joined the x402 Foundation and was named a launch partner for Mastercard’s agent-payments network.

Why does the article emphasize $280 in fees? Because XRPL fees are fixed near $0.0002 per transaction, so 1.4 million agent transactions generated roughly $280 in total network fees. The figure measures the economic weight of the activity: at fees that low, transaction counts capture developer testing and experimentation as much as commerce, so the count alone cannot distinguish a working economy from a working demo. Settled dollar volume, not yet headlined anywhere, is the metric that would.

How does XRPL’s position compare to other chains? It trails badly on volume and leads on specialization claims. Coinbase’s Base network has processed over 119 million x402 payments and Solana roughly 35 million, both with about a year’s head start and settlement dominated by USDC. XRPL’s counterargument is technical fit, deterministic 3-5 second finality, fixed fees, native escrow, a payments-only track record, and institutional distribution through Ripple and the Mastercard partnership.

Do AI agents pay in XRP or RLUSD? Both are supported, and the split is the story’s key open ratio. Category-wide, agents overwhelmingly settle in stablecoins because they optimize for stable pricing, which favors RLUSD on XRPL, whose reserve income accrues to Ripple the company. XRP functions primarily as network gas at fractions of a cent. This is why network success and XRP token value remain distinct questions, the ecosystem’s long-standing value-accrual gap in its newest setting.

Is the agent-payments category itself real? Early but credible. Cumulative settled x402 volume across all chains remains in the tens of millions of dollars, tiny by payments standards, but the institutional pre-organization is unusual: the world’s largest cloud, card, and payments companies formed a governance foundation before the market matured, and Mastercard is building a dedicated agent-payments network. The category’s backers are exactly the incumbents who usually arrive late.

What would validate XRPL’s bet here? Named commercial workloads and dollar volume. One identifiable production deployment paying real money through XRPL agent rails, plausibly via Mastercard’s network, would outweigh millions of anonymous test transactions. Sustained growth in RLUSD-settled x402 volume, and any narrowing of the transaction-count gap against Base, would show developer gravity forming, the ingredient the ecosystem’s prior infrastructure bets most conspicuously lacked.

What should XRP holders take from the milestone? That the infrastructure story is real, early, and, so far, economically small, and that its success would not automatically flow to the token. The rational reading treats the foundation seat and Mastercard partnership as cheap options on a large future, the transaction milestone as proof of capability rather than adoption, and the RLUSD-versus-XRP settlement split as the number that decides who benefits if the future arrives. This is educational analysis, not investment advice.

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

TL;DR

U.S. spot XRP ETFs now hold a record 1.47% of total supply worth $1.04 billion, with institutions front-running the CLARITY Act's Senate deadline ahead of the Aug. 7 recessGrayscale's Zach Pandl says Bitcoin has outgrown its four-year halving cycle, pointing instead to the Fed's July 28–29 meeting as the market's next real catalystAFX Trade, Verus Bridge and B² Network lost a combined $35.56 million in three separate DeFi exploits, with Verus hit twice in three months by the same unresolved bugU.S. spot Bitcoin ETFs logged a seven-day, $1 billion inflow streak as Kazakhstan launches state-backed mining and Circle brings USDC to 20 million Kakao and Toss users in KoreaXRP leaves exchanges for ETF vaults ahead of decisive Senate voteU.S. spot ETFs have removed a record 1.47% of XRP's total supply from market circulation. According to the latest SoSoValue data as of July 23, 2026, the funds now hold 977.41 million tokens worth a combined $1.04 billion.

Institutional accumulation is accelerating as the deadline for the CLARITY Act approaches in the U.S. Senate. Lawmakers have about two weeks left to reach a consensus on digital asset oversight rules before Congress leaves for its traditional August recess, which begins on Aug. 7.

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Expectations of long-awaited regulatory clarity are prompting funds to methodically purchase the underlying asset on the spot market and isolate it in custodial wallets, completely removing those coins from exchange circulation.

The price context only underscores the confidence of major players. XRP is currently trapped inside a descending channel near $1.1338, hovering around local support at $1.1158 with a neutral RSI reading of 54.82.

Total inflows in US Spot XRP ETFs since the start of Q3 2026, Source: SoSoValueThe gap between the total amount historically invested in the ETFs, $1.49 billion, and their current net asset value of $1.04 billion clearly shows that the funds are sitting on unrealized losses. Nevertheless, institutional holders are not cutting their losses and continue to maintain positions primarily through Bitwise, which has recorded $501 million in net inflows, and Franklin Templeton, with $416 million.

Although daily activity within the ETFs remains moderate at around $10.9 million in trading volume, the removal of nearly 1.5% of the XRP supply is reducing the depth of exchange order books. If the Senate manages to pass the CLARITY Act before the Aug. 7 recess, a surge in buyers will encounter an obvious shortage of liquidity on the spot market.

Why Grayscale no longer believes in Bitcoin halving cyclesThe leading cryptocurrency has outgrown the training wheels of the halving cycle and now lives by the adult rules of Wall Street, according to Grayscale Research head Zach Pandl, who has urged investors to erase Bitcoin's "four-year cycle" charts from their boards.

In his view, crypto has finally transformed into a mature macroeconomic asset that listens to the Federal Reserve rather than the miners' calendar.

At this point in the cycle, crypto skeptics would usually expect a deep plunge. The traditional theory predicted that Bitcoin would fall below $25,000 by autumn following last year's record high of $126,000. Instead, the coin is currently holding firmly near $65,800, down a relatively modest 48% from its peak by crypto-winter standards.

Bitcoin macro correlation chart (2012–2026), Source: GrayscalePandl therefore believes that, provided the U.S. economy remains resilient, the market bottom may already be behind us.

The foundation of this shift can be seen in macroeconomic charts from Bloomberg and Coin Metrics. Since 2014, Bitcoin's price bottoms have closely coincided not with supply reduction dates, but with declines in the ISM Manufacturing Index and peaks in U.S. two-year Treasury real yields.

The main event of the week is now the Federal Reserve meeting scheduled for July 28–29. Interest rates are currently being held at 3.50%–3.75%. If the regulator officially confirms a pause and rules out further increases, Bitcoin will receive a clear path toward growth, further cementing its status as the leading barometer of global liquidity.

'Black Thursday' for DeFi: Three crypto protocols hacked for $35.56 millionIt was a truly stormy morning for the decentralized finance market, as three projects were targeted by hackers one after another. AFX Trade, Verus Bridge and B² Network found themselves at the center of the exploits, with total losses reaching $35.56 million.

The hackers ruthlessly targeted the industry's main weak points: cross-chain bridge vulnerabilities and compromised administrative keys. 

The largest blow hit the AFX Trade protocol on Arbitrum, where attackers drained $24.15 million in USDC stablecoins from its custodial bridge. The project team responded immediately by suspending operations, bringing cybersecurity heavyweights SlowMist and Zellic into the investigation and offering the hacker a deal. 

The attacker will be allowed to keep 30% of the stolen amount as a legitimate bounty if the remaining 70% is returned.

On-chain message from AFX Trade to the hacker, Source: ArbiscanMeanwhile, the Verus–Ethereum cross-chain bridge has fallen into the same trap again, turning its exploits into an ongoing series. The hacker used an old repeated-import vulnerability, withdrew 3,816 ETH worth around $7.55 million and is already laundering the funds through the Tornado Cash mixer.

The irony is that the project was already exploited through a similar method in May. In July, the team triumphantly returned the recovered funds to the liquidity pools, only to suffer another identical exploit by July 23 after failing to fix the critical bug in the code.

This appears related to the previous Verus Ethereum Bridge incident in May 2026: same bridge contract, same entry path, and same bug class.

However, this is a new tx with a different attacker and loot wallet.https://t.co/FWGcnHJbzP

— Blockaid (@blockaid_) July 23, 2026 The L2 project B² Network on BNB Chain suffered the smallest loss of the three, although it was still substantial. Its staking contract was targeted, allowing attackers to steal $3.86 million before developers closed the vulnerability.

To the team's credit, it quickly contained the problem and immediately promised to fully compensate affected users from its own reserve funds.

While B² Network prepares the repayments and AFX waits for the hacker's response, the day has once again demonstrated that bridges remain the weakest link in crypto. Hackers have again proved that taking millions out of code is easier than attracting those millions in the first place, while users have once more been reminded who usually pays to close such holes.

Crypto market outlook: Bitcoin ETF inflow streak reaches $1 billion amid sovereign reserve formation and expansion in AsiaInstitutional capital is stabilizing the market, as a seven-day inflow streak into U.S. spot Bitcoin ETFs has brought in $1 billion, offsetting recent selling pressure.

While Bitcoin remains in a range just below the key technical barrier at $65,500, the long-term trend is shifting toward the nationalization of mining and the deeper integration of stablecoins into Asian payment ecosystems.

Key checkpoints:

ETF momentum accelerates: After a prolonged period of outflows, U.S. spot Bitcoin funds have recorded a seven-day green streak, bringing around $1 billion into the market, while BlackRock and Fidelity remained the traditional leaders.Bitcoin tests a technical reversal: The leading cryptocurrency is being squeezed into a narrowing range, trading at $65,495 after encountering a long-term descending trend line. The nearest support has formed at $63,800, while a break above the $67,433 point-of-control level is required to trigger an aggressive bullish scenario.BIP-110 faces rejection from miners: The controversial proposal to temporarily restrict the Ordinals and Runes protocols by imposing an 83-byte limit on the OP_RETURN field is losing its chances of success. Despite developers' attempts to clear blocks of spam, only 1.1% of miners have expressed support for the update, effectively eliminating the risk of a hard fork.State-backed mining takes root: Kazakhstan has officially introduced fixed electricity tariffs for licensed miners for 10 years in exchange for transferring part of the mined BTC to the central bank's national reserve. The country has joined El Salvador and Bhutan in pursuing a strategy of sovereign cryptocurrency accumulation.USDC enters Korean super apps: Stablecoin issuer Circle has signed agreements with technology giants Kakao Group and Toss to deploy blockchain-based settlements. The integration will provide more than 20 million active users in South Korea with legal access to digital assets.End of an era for a legendary derivatives exchange: BitMEX, which helped pioneer leveraged cryptocurrency trading in 2014, will completely cease operations on Sept. 23, 2026. The phased closure of positions will begin on Aug. 26. You Might Also Like

XRP selling pressure is dwindling, suggesting bearish exhaustion, as prices sit at an extreme opportunity buy zone on the daily chart.

XRP has spent nearly a year moving through a deep corrective phase after reaching its cycle high in mid-July 2025. Looking at the chart structure today, recent price action suggests that the downtrend is approaching its final stages.

XRP Selling Pressure Has Faded Significantly Chart analysis suggests that XRP is no longer behaving like an asset trapped in a strong bearish trend. Instead, it appears to be building a base near historical levels for the next uptrend phase.

One of the notable confirmations of this is how selling pressure has declined through the ongoing corrective phase. Data shows that the most aggressive selling volume appeared immediately after XRP reached its all-time high of $3.66 on July 18, 2025.

The volume spike marked the beginning of the broader correction and reflected heavy distribution from market participants. However, recent market activity tells a very different story. 

As XRP approached its lowest levels in years during the June 26 drop to $1.009, bearish trading volume had fallen dramatically. The peak bearish volume recorded was 421,000 XRP. Days before the June dip, the trading volume had dropped to 105,000 XRP, which is roughly four times lower than what was seen during the initial stages of the downtrend.

Notably, this shift matters because sustained selling pressure usually accompanies strong bear markets. In XRP’s case, the opposite is happening. Prices continued to make new lows while selling momentum declined substantially, signaling gradual exhaustion.

XRP at Extreme Opportunity Buy Zone Further analysis suggests that XRP completed the steepest part of its correction months ago. Since the July 2025 peak, the coin has traded within a falling wedge, persistently making lower highs and lower lows.

XRP Accumulation Zone However, since the broader crypto market crash in February, XRP has largely consolidated, reflecting a market that is no longer dominated by aggressive sellers. Price action has remained in a range, suggesting that the earlier distribution is nearing its completion.

At current levels, XRP has entered an extreme opportunity zone from a long-term perspective. Here the risk-to-reward ratio looks very appealing, with long-term holders already taking advantage of this rare chance to buy at a very low price.

It bears mentioning that the longer XRP spends consolidating around the current levels, the more significant the eventual breakout would be once momentum returns.

Possible Recovery Targets When momentum starts to return, the result could be notable for XRP. One of the possible recovery targets is the level around $3, a 165% increase from the current price of $1.135.

A sustained hold above this level opens the path for a 224% rally to retest the all-time high of $3.66. Notably, these are long-term targets and would require broader market recovery momentum to come to fruition.

Interestingly, XRP is not moving in isolation from the broader crypto market. Comparing its current structure with other major digital assets such as Bitcoin and Ethereum shows similar signs that the bearish phase is nearly complete. This suggests the market is simply gearing up for the next breakout to higher levels.

DisClamier: This content is informational and should not be considered financial advice. The views expressed in this article may include the author's personal opinions and do not reflect The Crypto Basic opinion. Readers are encouraged to do thorough research before making any investment decisions. The Crypto Basic is not responsible for any financial losses.

XRP and Bitcoin are left out as S&P Dow Jones Indices and Pantera Capital have launched the S&P Pantera Digital Asset Index, a new benchmark for institutional investors.

The index focuses on blockchain protocols that generate revenue through network activity. The benchmark tracks 18 digital assets, with Ethereum, BNB, Solana, Tron, and Hyperliquid among its largest holdings.

According to S&P Dow Jones Indices CEO Catherine Clay, the index uses principles similar to traditional equity benchmarks. It evaluates factors such as protocol revenue, liquidity, listing requirements, and operational maturity.

XRP and Bitcoin Excluded From Revenue-Based Index During an interview with CNBC, Clay said Bitcoin was excluded because it does not operate as a revenue-generating protocol, even though it meets other eligibility requirements.

While she did not specifically discuss XRP, the index methodology also leaves it out because it does not meet the revenue-generation requirement.

Rather than tracking the largest cryptocurrencies by market capitalization, the index focuses on blockchain networks that generate revenue from actual protocol usage. It does not include returns generated through staking yields or other investment mechanisms.

New Benchmark Aims at Institutional Investors S&P said the index seeks to give institutional investors and asset managers a trusted benchmark for the digital asset market. The methodology draws inspiration from traditional equity indexes, including benchmarks such as the S&P 500.

Notably, the market-cap-weighted index will be rebalanced every quarter. To reduce concentration risk, the largest asset is limited to a 35% weighting. Other assets cannot exceed a 20% allocation.

Clay said S&P developed the methodology with Pantera Capital. The index measures how blockchain protocols generate revenue from real network activity rather than from staking rewards or investment returns.

Index Focuses on Revenue, Not Crypto Market Size The exclusion of XRP and Bitcoin reflects the index’s specific goal rather than a view on their market position or adoption.

Both assets remain among the largest cryptocurrencies by market capitalization. However, they fall outside the benchmark’s focus on protocol-generated revenue.

The launch provides another institutional reference point for digital assets. It gives investors an alternative to broad market-cap-based crypto indexes by highlighting blockchain networks with measurable operating revenue.

DisClamier: This content is informational and should not be considered financial advice. The views expressed in this article may include the author's personal opinions and do not reflect The Crypto Basic opinion. Readers are encouraged to do thorough research before making any investment decisions. The Crypto Basic is not responsible for any financial losses.

Software developer Vincent Van Code believes the proposed CLARITY Act could have a bigger impact on XRP adoption than many people expect. 

He argues that, although XRP’s legal status is clearer today, important regulatory uncertainty still remains.

In a post on X, Van Code said the 2023 district court ruling in the SEC’s case against Ripple significantly reduced legal uncertainty. Notably, the court found that XRP sales on secondary markets are not securities.

He said the ruling has already encouraged more institutional activity. It has supported the expansion of Ripple’s On-Demand Liquidity (ODL) corridors, bank pilot programs, XRP exchange-traded fund (ETF) filings, and broader custody support.

Court Ruling Reduced Risk, but Uncertainty Remains Van Code argued that the Ripple decision is still only a federal district court ruling, not a federal law. Because of that, he said, future legal and regulatory challenges remain possible.

He noted that the SEC could take different positions in future enforcement actions. Future court decisions or changes in administration could also narrow or revisit the ruling.

According to Van Code, this uncertainty continues to concern large financial institutions. Many of them require clear statutory guidance before committing significant capital or integrating digital assets into core financial products.

CLARITY Act Could Encourage More Institutions Van Code said the CLARITY Act is designed to address this issue by putting digital asset classifications into federal law.

He added that banks and traditional financial institutions generally follow conservative compliance standards. As a result, many remain hesitant to hold large XRP positions or build major products based only on a court ruling.

Instead, some institutions have limited their XRP involvement to lower-risk activities. These include non-custodial services, pilot programs, and experimental use cases.

If passed, the CLARITY Act could remove much of the remaining regulatory uncertainty that risk-averse institutions continue to cite. Van Code believes this could support broader institutional adoption of XRP.

However, he emphasized that this is his personal analysis. He did not suggest that the legislation would necessarily have a direct impact on XRP’s market price.

CLARITY Act Advances in Senate A new draft of the Digital Asset Market Clarity Act is circulating in the Senate as lawmakers make a final push to pass crypto market structure legislation before the August recess.

The latest draft includes a controversial ethics provision. It would bar the president and other senior government officials from holding direct crypto investments until 2029. The Department of Justice would be responsible for enforcing the rule.

Republicans say the provision reflects an agreement with President Donald Trump. However, many Democrats argue the restriction does not go far enough. Several have not yet committed to supporting the bill.

Beyond the ethics measure, the legislation would expand consumer protections and clarify how digital assets are regulated. It would also establish rules for crypto exchanges, support tokenized securities, and preserve protections for decentralized finance (DeFi) developers. Developers who do not control customer funds would remain exempt from money transmitter rules.

Republican leaders are expected to bring the bill to the Senate floor soon. However, it will likely need at least 10 Democratic votes to clear the Senate’s 60-vote threshold.

With Congress set to begin its summer recess in August, the coming weeks are the bill’s best opportunity to advance.

DisClamier: This content is informational and should not be considered financial advice. The views expressed in this article may include the author's personal opinions and do not reflect The Crypto Basic opinion. Readers are encouraged to do thorough research before making any investment decisions. The Crypto Basic is not responsible for any financial losses.