XRP Price Prediction: Ripple CEO-CTO Insights, Banking Momentum, and Solana’s Tokenisation Arms Race
As XRP moves toward 2026, price action remains constrained near $2, but rising institutional engagement, regulatory clarity, and expanding..
Quick overview
- XRP's price remains near $2, constrained by technical resistance but supported by rising institutional engagement and regulatory clarity.
- Ripple CEO Brad Garlinghouse dismissed claims of price manipulation, emphasizing XRP's deep liquidity and its evolution into a mature digital asset.
- Despite recent market volatility, XRP has shown resilience, quickly reclaiming the $2 area and indicating active long-term investor interest.
- Ripple's progress in regulatory approval and cross-chain functionality enhances its credibility and utility, positioning XRP for potential growth.
Live XRP/USD Chart
As XRP moves toward 2026, price action remains constrained near $2, but rising institutional engagement, regulatory clarity, and expanding liquidity continue to build the foundation for a potential rebound.
XRP Trades Under Pressure, but the Bigger Picture Is Still Intact
XRP enters the final stretch of the year navigating a complex mix of technical headwinds and improving fundamentals. While price momentum has softened, keeping the token confined to a narrow range near $2, broader developments suggest the long-term investment case remains far from broken. Institutional adoption, legal clarity, and infrastructure expansion are all advancing steadily, even as traders grapple with near-term volatility.
Recent market conditions have tested investor confidence. XRP briefly dipped toward the mid-$1.70s before recovering, reflecting the broader fragility across digital assets during periods of macro-driven risk aversion. Still, the ability to stabilise and rebound highlights the presence of committed buyers beneath the surface.
Garlinghouse Rejects Manipulation Claims
Ripple CEO Brad Garlinghouse moved quickly to counter renewed claims of XRP price manipulation after the token experienced a sharp but contained pullback. Speaking publicly, Garlinghouse dismissed the notion that Ripple—or any single entity—could exert outsized influence over XRP’s market value.
He pointed to XRP’s deep liquidity and multi-billion-dollar daily trading volume as clear evidence that the asset now trades as part of the wider crypto ecosystem rather than responding to company-specific actions. According to Garlinghouse, XRP has long since outgrown the characteristics of a small-cap token, making coordinated manipulation both impractical and implausible.=
This stance reinforces a key narrative shift following Ripple’s legal victory over the SEC: XRP is increasingly viewed as a mature, liquid digital asset rather than a speculative proxy for Ripple itself.
Volatility Shakes Markets, XRP Holds Its Ground
November proved to be a turbulent month across global financial markets. A sharp rise in volatility triggered widespread deleveraging, affecting equities, bonds, and cryptocurrencies alike. XRP was swept up in the selloff, breaking below $2 during the most intense phase of liquidation.
Ripple Chart Monthly – The 20 SMA Is Holding As Support
Despite the pressure, the token avoided a deeper breakdown and quickly reclaimed the $2 area. That behaviour suggests longer-term investors remain active, using periods of stress to accumulate rather than exit. While short-term sentiment remains cautious, the resilience shown during market-wide drawdowns adds weight to the argument that XRP’s downside is increasingly supported.
Institutional Adoption Seen as the First Phase of Growth
Ripple’s long-term strategy continues to emphasise institutional integration as a prerequisite for broader adoption. Former Ripple CTO David Schwartz recently articulated this vision, arguing that enterprise and retail adoption are not separate paths but sequential stages of the same growth cycle.
From this perspective, the infrastructure demanded by financial institutions—compliance, scalability, and reliability—lays the groundwork for consumer-facing applications. Rather than diverting focus from retail users, institutional adoption strengthens the ecosystem as a whole, enabling more sophisticated and secure use cases to emerge over time.
This approach positions the XRP Ledger as a foundational layer for future financial applications, rather than a network chasing short-lived trends.
VivoPower Expands XRP-Linked Exposure
Institutional interest in XRP-linked assets has also taken new forms. VivoPower announced a joint venture aimed at acquiring significant equity in Ripple Labs, offering indirect exposure to XRP without purchasing the token directly.
Through its digital asset unit, Vivo Federation, the company is working with South Korea–based Lean Ventures to source an initial tranche of Ripple equity. Based on current valuations, the stake represents exposure equivalent to hundreds of millions of XRP tokens, highlighting the scale of institutional appetite.
By structuring the investment around Ripple shares rather than XRP itself, the vehicle targets institutional and qualified retail investors, particularly in South Korea—one of XRP’s most active global markets.
Long-Term Support Continues to Anchor the Price
From a structural standpoint, XRP remains technically constructive on higher timeframes. The token continues to trade above its 20-month simple moving average, a level that has historically acted as a key accumulation zone during extended corrections.
Ripple Chart Daily – The 20 SMA Pushing the Highs Lower
Each test of this long-term indicator has attracted consistent demand, preventing a more severe breakdown and reinforcing confidence among investors with multi-year horizons. As long as XRP remains above this support, the broader consolidation phase retains a stabilising rather than bearish character.
Overhead Resistance Still Caps Upside
While long-term structure remains intact, near-term resistance continues to limit upside momentum. The $2.50 area has repeatedly stalled rallies, absorbing buying pressure before it can develop into a sustained move higher. Beyond that, the $3 level remains the defining threshold for any meaningful trend reversal.
A decisive break above $3 would likely signal a transition out of consolidation and into a renewed bullish phase. Until then, upward moves are likely to remain corrective, particularly in the absence of strong volume expansion.
Shorter-Term Charts Signal Caution, Not Collapse
On daily timeframes, XRP continues to trade below its 20-day moving average, which has acted as a persistent ceiling. This dynamic has kept rebounds contained and maintained the risk of further pullbacks toward the lower end of the range.
However, it is notable that XRP has not set new lower lows for over a month. This loss of downside momentum suggests selling pressure is easing, even if buyers are not yet aggressive enough to force a breakout.
Regulatory Progress Strengthens Ripple’s Position
Beyond price action, Ripple has made tangible progress on the regulatory front. Conditional approval to establish Ripple National Trust Bank represents a significant milestone, placing the company under both federal and state oversight.
This development enhances Ripple’s credibility with institutional partners and supports its ambitions in regulated payments and stablecoin issuance. In an environment where regulatory clarity is increasingly prized, this step positions Ripple ahead of many competitors.
Cross-Chain Expansion Improves XRP Utility
Utility has also expanded with the launch of a regulated wrapped version of XRP, enabling cross-chain functionality without relying on less secure bridging mechanisms. The product debuted with substantial liquidity, underscoring demand for XRP’s integration into decentralised finance ecosystems.
Over time, broader interoperability could support more consistent usage and deepen liquidity, particularly as institutional participation in DeFi continues to grow.
Macro Conditions Slowly Turn Supportive
Shifting expectations around US monetary policy have also contributed to XRP’s stabilisation. Signs of cooling in the labour market have strengthened the case for further rate cuts, improving liquidity conditions for risk assets.
While near-term policy signals remain critical, a sustained easing cycle into 2025 and 2026 would provide a more durable tailwind for cryptocurrencies, including XRP.
A Market Caught Between Patience and Progress
As XRP moves toward 2026, it remains caught between improving fundamentals and stubborn technical resistance. Price action alone may appear uninspiring, but beneath the surface, institutional engagement, regulatory clarity, and ecosystem expansion continue to advance.
While short-term direction remains uncertain, the structural foundations for a more durable move are steadily taking shape, suggesting that patience—rather than capitulation—may prove the more rewarding strategy.
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