Foreign media reports indicate a recent divergence within the Ripple ecosystem: while the size of the USD stablecoin RLUSD continues to expand, market sentiment towards XRP has clearly weakened. The article argues that these two events are related, but do not necessarily mean that RLUSD growth will directly drive up the price of XRP.
RLUSD expansion stems from payment scenarios
RLUSD's market capitalization has surpassed $1.7 billion. The article states that this growth primarily stems from its inclusion in Ripple's on-demand liquidity system, used for cross-border payment settlements requiring price stability.
For banks and payment institutions, stability is more important than volatility. RLUSD's dollar-pegged nature is perfectly suited to high-frequency, high-value settlement needs. Based on this, the article concludes that this milestone better reflects increased institutional adoption of Ripple's payment infrastructure than rising retail investor sentiment.
The article also points out that RLUSD and XRP serve different functions within the same system. The former is more of a stable settlement tool, while the latter's value depends more on circulation efficiency and market-making demand. Therefore, an increase in RLUSD trading volume will not automatically translate into an increase in XRP price.
XRP sentiment weakened, and trading volume declined.
The article states that XRP has fallen 11.6% since May 14. Since February of this year, the price has fluctuated roughly between $1.11 and $1.67, failing to establish a clear direction.
Meanwhile, trading volume in 2026 is expected to decline significantly compared to 2025. Santiment data shows that bearish comments on social media platforms have nearly overwhelmed bullish sentiment, with market sentiment dropping to the "extreme fear" level.
The article argues that retail investors have shown signs of fatigue with prolonged sideways trading, while institutional adoption continues. This gap between "infrastructure expansion" and "token price stagnation" is the main source of current discontent.
Analysts are focusing on the $3 mark.
Crypto analyst EGRAG Crypto believes that a descending expanding wedge has formed in the XRP price structure, with lows appearing successively at $1.61, $1.37, and $1.11.
According to him, if this pattern breaks upwards, the target range could be between $7 and $11, provided that the price first rises above the upper limit of $3; if it falls below the $1.11 support level, it could further decline to $0.32.
The article also mentions that, assuming no significant changes in current conditions, XRP is more likely to continue fluctuating between $1.40 and $1.60 in the short term.
Institutional network expansion has not translated into coin price.
The article states that the Ripple network currently connects over 300 institutional participants, and RLUSD continues to expand. However, these advancements have not yet translated into strong performance for XRP.
The article also mentions that the US Clarity Act is progressing in the Senate, citing opinions that it has a high probability of becoming law in 2026. The article's core judgment is that the current market disagreement is not about whether Ripple will continue building infrastructure, but rather when this construction will be reflected in XRP pricing.
