The XRP ecosystem is flashing two contradictory signals: network activity is climbing sharply while the token’s price remains anchored below key technical levels. A surge of 4,300 new wallets appeared on the XRP Ledger within 24 hours — the fourth-largest single-day spike of 2026, according to Santiment — yet the spot market has barely budged. At the same time, the Ripple-linked stablecoin RLUSD hit an all-time high market cap of $1.7 billion, and a series of institutional partnerships has widened the infrastructure runway.
XRP changed hands at $1.34 on Friday, down 1.83 percent on the day and 9.73 percent lower over the past week. The token sits well below both its 50-day moving average of $1.39 and its 200-day moving average of $1.70, leaving it 28.59 percent in the red since the start of the year.
Wallet creation accelerates, but holding patterns emerge
The jump in new accounts is more than a vanity metric. Before the recent burst, daily wallet creation had been hovering around 2,500. Active addresses also rose from 32,000 to 43,520 over the same period. Each new wallet on the XRP Ledger must be funded with at least 1 XRP as a base reserve, plus an owner reserve of 0.2 XRP per ledger object such as offers, trust lines, escrows, and payment channels. That capital requirement makes the wallet spike more meaningful than simple sign-up data — it represents a real allocation of value.
Still, the market has yet to reward the uptick. The next hard resistance sits around $1.40, and a broader supply zone extends to roughly $1.55. That upper band was where the most recent recovery attempt stalled after XRP touched a low of $1.27. A layer of overhead supply complicates any rally: roughly 3.75 billion XRP — a large portion of circulating supply — was acquired in the $1.37 to $1.45 range, meaning many holders could look to flatten positions as the price approaches those levels.
RLUSD doubles in a quarter, infrastructure deals multiply
While the spot market drifts, the stablecoin side of the ecosystem is accelerating. RLUSD’s market capitalization reached $1.7 billion on May 22, nearly doubling within a single quarter. About 80 to 82 percent of the circulating supply resides on Ethereum, with the remainder on the XRP Ledger. Daily trading volume on the stablecoin recently exceeded $213 million, supported by more than 8,700 active wallets. To reduce concentration risk, Ripple plans to expand RLUSD to layer-2 networks including Base, Optimism, and Unichain via the Wormhole bridge.
Should investors sell immediately? Or is it worth buying XRP?
British crypto custodian Copper has integrated RLUSD into its settlement and treasury workflows, allowing institutional clients to hold the stablecoin natively on both XRPL and Ethereum and use it in trading strategies. Separately, Ripple Prime completed its integration with EDX Markets on May 20, giving clients direct access to spot markets and perpetual futures liquidity. Michael Higgins, Ripple Prime’s international CEO, described the goal as building a safe bridge between traditional and digital markets; RLUSD is expected to eventually become the primary collateral for derivatives positions on EDX, letting financial institutions meet margin requirements directly through Ripple’s infrastructure.
XRP ETFs draw fresh capital
Investor appetite for XRP exposure via traditional products is also growing. XRP-focused exchange-traded funds recorded net inflows of nearly $9 million on May 22, pushing total assets under management for all XRP-based financial products above $1.15 billion.
Protocol amendment clock is ticking
Behind the scenes, a technical deadline looms. The amendment dubbed “fixCleanup3_1_3” is scheduled to activate on May 27. It contains corrections for NFTs, Permissioned Domains, and the XRP Ledger’s lending protocol. So far, roughly 40 percent of validators have upgraded their nodes. Ripple CTO David Schwartz warned that those who fail to update on time risk triggering an amendment block — a scenario that could stall the network’s ability to process new features. The update is considered a prerequisite for scaling real-world asset projects, which already represent $3 billion in volume on the ledger.
The permissioned-dex capability, known as XLS-81, went live on the XRP Ledger in February 2026, allowing closed trading venues on-chain. That function targets banks, brokers, and other regulated market participants, broadening the ledger’s utility beyond simple peer-to-peer transfers.
Can the gap close?
The current picture is a study in contrasts. On-chain data shows rising grassroots interest, institutional rails are multiplying, and a major stablecoin is on a growth tear. Yet the price has failed to reflect any of that momentum. Whether the infrastructure build-out eventually lifts the token will depend on whether the wallet activity sustains, the protocol upgrade goes smoothly, and RLUSD continues its expansion. For now, the market is waiting for a catalyst strong enough to push XRP through the $1.40 resistance zone and reclaim its long-term trendlines.
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