XRP (XRP) down 3.19% in the last 24 hours

Gate News Bot Message, December 18th, according to CoinMarketCap data, XRP (XRP) is currently trading at $1.85, down 3.19% in the past 24 hours, with a high of $2.05 and a low of $1.83. The current market capitalization is approximately $11.179 billion.

The XRP Ledger is a public blockchain born for business, jointly led by the global business and developer community. The chain has reliably operated for over ten years, with zero transaction failures, offering features such as simplified development, low transaction costs, high performance, and sustainability. The XRP Ledger is characterized by decentralization, smooth development experience, high performance (settling thousands of transactions within seconds), and low costs (only a few tenths of a cent per transaction). Additionally, the platform has built-in features like a decentralized exchange, cross-currency payments, payment channels, multi-signature, and has over 630,000 ledgers in stable operation.

Recent Key Drivers of XRP

1️⃣ Spot ETF defies market pressure to attract funds, institutional confidence remains steady Despite recent pressure and corrections in mainstream assets like Bitcoin, XRP spot ETFs continue to attract strong inflows, with total funds surpassing $1 billion, making it the fastest crypto asset to reach this milestone since the launch of Ethereum spot ETFs. The US now has five XRP spot ETF products, issued by Canary Capital, Grayscale, Bitwise, Franklin Templeton, and 21Shares. These providers are competing through management fee reductions, with Franklin Templeton’s XRPZ fee as low as 0.19%. In contrast, Bitcoin ETFs experienced net outflows of about $2.9 billion during the same period, highlighting XRP’s strong contrarian inflow. This ongoing institutional capital inflow reflects investors’ firm recognition of XRP’s long-term value, even amid weakening market sentiment.

2️⃣ Rapid expansion of cross-chain ecosystem, DeFi applications significantly enriched Wrapped XRP (wXRP) has officially launched on the Solana network, developed in partnership with Hex Trust and LayerZero, supported 1:1 by native XRP. Early on, it locked over $100 million in liquidity, enabling XRP users to participate in swaps and liquidity provision across multiple networks including Solana, Ethereum, Optimism, Ink, and Unichain. Meanwhile, Ripple’s stablecoin RLUSD has initiated multi-chain testing, launching on Ethereum Layer 2 networks (including Optimism, Base, Ink, and Unichain) via Wormhole protocol. These cross-chain developments mark XRP’s ecosystem evolution from single-chain to multi-chain strategy, laying the foundation for expanded application scope and broader use cases for XRP and RLUSD across different ecosystems.

3️⃣ Derivatives market maturity continues, institutional trading infrastructure optimized CME Group has launched XRP futures supporting TAS (Trade at Settlement) functionality, allowing investors to buy and sell at the settlement price or nearby, for precise hedging and reduced settlement risk. These spot-priced XRP futures contracts can be traded across major US stock index futures markets, enabling traders to execute futures positions under spot market terms. The ongoing enhancement of derivatives markets provides institutional investors with more convenient hedging and trading channels, further improving XRP’s institutional trading infrastructure.

4️⃣ Network infrastructure cost optimization significantly enhances ecosystem competitiveness The daily total fee on the XRP Ledger has decreased from 5,900 XRP/day in early February to about 650 XRP/day, an 89% reduction, reaching the lowest level since December 2020. This reflects further optimization of network transaction costs, boosting XRP’s competitiveness in payment applications. Former Ripple CTO David Schwartz has re-engaged in XRPL infrastructure development, establishing monitoring centers to optimize on-chain latency and improve validator node performance. The newly introduced MPT tokenization standard on XRP Ledger provides greater support for real-world asset on-chain, and these ongoing infrastructure upgrades strengthen the ecosystem’s competitive edge.

5️⃣ Institutional strategic deployment heats up, multi-channel promotion of asset financialization Nasdaq-listed company VivoPower plans to acquire Ripple Labs shares through a new joint venture, investing $300 million, giving investors indirect exposure to nearly $1 billion worth of underlying XRP assets. Based on current XRP prices, this stake represents approximately 450 million XRP tokens. Meanwhile, Digital Wealth Partners has launched an algorithmic trading app tailored for high-net-worth XRP holders, enabling operations within tax-advantaged accounts like IRAs, with assets custodied by US-regulated Anchorage Digital. Additionally, SBI Ripple Asia and Doppler Finance have launched XRP-based interest-bearing products and real-world asset tokenization services, with SBI Digital Markets, regulated by the Monetary Authority of Singapore, acting as the institutional custodian. These initiatives demonstrate deepening institutional engagement and strategic positioning within the XRP ecosystem.

From a market structure perspective, XRP is near a key support level. Although short-term prices are under pressure, strong fundamentals such as ongoing institutional infrastructure improvements, persistent net inflows into spot ETFs, and rapid cross-chain ecosystem expansion provide solid support. However, macro factors like year-end risk assessments and the chain reaction from corrections in mainstream assets like Bitcoin mean XRP should watch the critical technical support at $1.92 in the short term. Once market sentiment improves, these accumulated positive factors could become key drivers for a price rebound.

This message is not investment advice; please be aware of market volatility risks.