XRP stays around $1.34 despite regulatory wins and ETF inflows

XRP hovered at $1.34 on May 30, 2026, a level more than 60% below its $3.65 high from a year earlier, even though Ripple secured major regulatory clarity and institutional money poured into spot XRP ETFs [1]. The token’s price stagnation comes despite the SEC settling its lawsuit for $50 million in August 2025, the SEC and CFTC classifying XRP as a digital commodity in March 2026, and the Senate Banking Committee advancing the CLARITY Act on May 14 [1].

Ripple’s business has flourished. The company closed roughly ten major deals in 2026, and its XRP Ledger now hosts $3.5 billion of tokenized real‑world assets, up from $991 million at the start of the year [2]. Daily transactions on the ledger hit three million on March 15, a threefold rise from mid‑2025, while its RLUSD stablecoin reached a $1.72 billion market cap with $18 billion of transfer volume in Q1 2026 [2]. Yet most of these advances benefit Ripple’s network rather than the XRP token itself; about 60% of RippleNet partners use only the messaging layer, routing fiat payments without touching XRP [2].

The supply side adds pressure. Ripple holds roughly 33 billion XRP in escrow and can release up to 1 billion tokens each month, creating a steady overhang that the market must absorb [1]. Institutional demand hinges on whether the CLARITY Act becomes law. If passed, Standard Chartered projects ETF inflows of $4‑$8 billion and a year‑end price target of $8; without it, the bank’s forecast drops to $2.80 [1]. Spot XRP ETFs have already attracted $1.53 billion since launching in November 2025, and Standard Chartered still sees a long‑term trajectory toward $28 by 2030 [1].

The crux for investors is whether Ripple’s expanding infrastructure—ODL corridor growth, tokenized assets, and DTCC’s inclusion of Ripple Prime—will eventually translate into recurring XRP demand. ODL currently accounts for only 40% of RippleNet’s 300 banking partners, and the remaining 60% could convert to XRP usage if regulatory uncertainty fades [2]. If that conversion stalls, XRP may continue to drift with broader crypto market moves rather than carving its own path.

The real question is whether the regulatory momentum and institutional inflows can overcome the structural disconnect between Ripple’s business growth and XRP’s token economics, or if the token will remain stuck near $1.34 despite the hype.