XRP’s impressive surge at the opening of 2026 has largely evaporated. The cryptocurrency, which jumped 31% in the first week of January to reach $2.41, has relinquished most of those gains. It currently trades around $1.91, marking a decline of approximately 20% from its recent peak. This price weakness unfolds even as Ripple, the company closely associated with XRP, makes significant strides in building its institutional framework.
Regulatory Milestones in Key Markets
Ripple secured a pivotal provisional e-money institution approval from Luxembourg’s CSSF financial regulator on January 14. This follows another critical authorization obtained just a week prior, when the UK’s Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) granted the firm both a payments license and a crypto asset registration.
With a portfolio now exceeding 75 licenses globally, Ripple is strategically positioning itself for cross-border payment settlement under Europe’s upcoming MiCA regulatory framework. Monica Long, President at Ripple, has labeled 2026 the “production era” for institutional crypto adoption. She offers concrete predictions: half of all Fortune 500 companies are expected to establish crypto exposure this year, while 5 to 10 percent of global settlement activity could migrate to blockchain networks.
Binance Announces Major Stablecoin Listing
In a separate but related development, the crypto exchange Binance revealed plans to list Ripple’s RLUSD stablecoin. The token, initially launched on the Ethereum blockchain, has already achieved a market capitalization exceeding $1.3 billion. It is fully backed by a reserve of US dollar deposits, short-term government securities, and cash equivalents.
Binance will introduce trading pairs for RLUSD/USDT and, notably, XRP/RLUSD. This latter pairing will enable direct trading between XRP and the stablecoin for the first time. Integration onto one of the world’s largest trading platforms grants RLUSD immediate access to millions of users and could accelerate adoption of Ripple’s broader payment infrastructure.
Should investors sell immediately? Or is it worth buying XRP?
Strong Network Fundamentals Contrast with Price Action
Despite the subdued market performance, underlying data from the XRP Ledger tells a story of robust health. On January 13, the network processed 1.45 million transactions—its highest volume in 180 days. Concurrently, the amount of XRP held on centralized exchanges has dropped to 1.6 billion tokens, the lowest level seen since 2018. Analysts often interpret such a decline as a sign of investors moving assets into long-term cold storage or institutional custody solutions.
Furthermore, since the launch of XRP-focused Exchange-Traded Funds (ETFs) in late 2025, these products have attracted cumulative inflows of $1.37 billion. The combination of shrinking readily available supply and consistent ETF demand could amplify future price movements when broader market sentiment improves.
Market Outlook: A Clash of Forces
Historically, significant price rallies for XRP have frequently occurred after periods where strong network activity diverged from weak price performance, a pattern observed in 2017 and 2020. Geoffrey Kendrick, a strategist at Standard Chartered, maintains a long-term bullish outlook, forecasting a price target of $8 by the end of 2026 and $12.50 by 2028.
In the near term, however, macroeconomic headwinds are applying pressure. These include tempered expectations for interest rate cuts and emerging concerns over new tariffs. Whether Ripple’s infrastructure progress with RLUSD and its regulatory expansions will translate into higher prices for XRP depends heavily on the broader market environment and the continuation of institutional capital inflows.
Ad
XRP Stock: Buy or Sell?! New XRP Analysis from January 21 delivers the answer:
The latest XRP figures speak for themselves: Urgent action needed for XRP investors. Is it worth buying or should you sell? Find out what to do now in the current free analysis from January 21.
XRP: Buy or sell? Read more here...