XRP's Network Upgrades Accelerate, But Price Remains Stuck in Neutral
Published on 07/26/2026 at 12:31 | Redaktion boerse-global.de
The XRP Ledger is quietly building a formidable infrastructure footprint, even as the token's price action remains conspicuously flat. Trading at roughly $1.10, XRP has been locked in a tight range between $1.10 and $1.20 for weeks, a consolidation that stands in sharp contrast to the flurry of activity unfolding beneath the surface.
The most striking metric comes from the tokenized real-world asset (RWA) space. Over the past six months, the XRP Ledger has absorbed $2.6 billion in such assets — excluding stablecoins — catapulting it to second place among all blockchains. Only BNB Chain, with roughly $3 billion, sits ahead, while Stellar trails at $2.1 billion. The bulk of that volume comes from tokenized energy assets issued by JMWH, which alone account for $2.23 billion. Total RWA value on the ledger now stands at $4.38 billion.
A New Liquidity Blueprint Targets Institutional Players
Developers are also laying the groundwork for deeper institutional participation. A proposed upgrade dubbed "AMM Swappable Curves," authored by developers Denis Angell and Roman Thpt, would introduce multiple liquidity curve models — including ConstantProduct, ConcentratedLiquidity, and StableSwap — to the XRP Ledger's automated market maker pools. Pool creators would select the appropriate model at setup, while existing pools remain untouched. The goal is more efficient pricing for stablecoin pairs and the large trade sizes typical of institutional RWA trading. Analyst X Finance Bull described the proposal as potentially the biggest institutional opening for XRP the market has yet seen.
That infrastructure is already being tested in the real world. A pilot project involving Ripple, JPMorgan Kinexys, Mastercard, and Ondo Finance settled a redemption of Ondo's tokenized treasury fund OUSG on the XRP Ledger in under five seconds. JPMorgan transferred U.S. dollars to a Ripple account in Singapore as part of the transaction — a speed benchmark that could serve as a reference for cross-border payments going forward.
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Mastercard Integration Opens the Door for AI Payments
In a separate but equally significant development, the XRP Ledger has integrated Mastercard's "Verifiable Intent" standard for AI-driven payments. The integration, completed on July 26, 2026, runs through the x402 protocol and infrastructure provider t54. It allows autonomous AI agents to execute payments on the XRP Ledger while adhering to Mastercard's security framework. Developers can verify who authorized a payment, what limits apply, and the transaction's purpose before settlement occurs. The move positions XRPL infrastructure for machine-to-machine payments between enterprises — a segment many institutions view as a growth market.
Software Overhaul Nears Completion
Meanwhile, one of the largest software migrations in the network's history is approaching the finish line. Version 3.2.0 of the XRPL server software is nearing its activation date, with roughly 66% of validators and 57% of nodes already upgraded. The centerpiece is the XLS-0095 amendment, which officially renames the core server software from "rippled" to "xrpld." Beyond the rebranding, the update includes infrastructure improvements and bug fixes designed to prepare the network for higher volumes of tokenized assets and stablecoin transactions.
Ripple Mint and the RLUSD Push
Ripple has also launched "Ripple Mint," a unified platform allowing financial institutions to mint, redeem, and manage the Ripple USD (RLUSD) stablecoin across multiple chains, including the XRPL EVM sidechain and various Ethereum-compatible layers. RLUSD's market capitalization has reached roughly $1.5 billion, though a significant portion of that volume resides on Ethereum rather than Ripple's own ledger. Banks are increasingly using Ripple's minting and messaging tools, including recently confirmed interoperability with SWIFT messages.
ETF Flows Dry Up as Whales Step In
Despite the network's momentum, investor appetite for regulated XRP products has cooled markedly. Weekly spot ETF inflows have collapsed from $131.94 million in May to $59.46 million in June and just $12.43 million in July. The net position of long-term holders has also shrunk, falling from 231 million to 226 million XRP since July 19. The probability that the CLARITY Act — the U.S. crypto regulation bill central to the industry — will pass this year stands at just 37%, a political uncertainty that appears to be weighing on retail sentiment.
On-chain data from the past 48 hours reveals a split market. Retail interest looks subdued, but whale addresses holding between 100,000 and 100 million XRP continue to accumulate. Exchange balances have fallen to a multi-year low of roughly 1.6 billion tokens, suggesting a shift toward long-term holding or cold storage.
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The price itself sits just above key support at $1.10, roughly 21% below the 200-day moving average of $1.39 — a sign that the broader trend remains damaged despite the technical progress. XRP is currently trading within 1.34% of its 50-day average of $1.11, underscoring the lack of directional conviction. It remains 69.04% below its yearly high of $3.55, reached in late July of last year, though it has gained 5.46% over the past 30 days. The year-to-date performance remains sharply negative at minus 41.39%.
Technical indicators from CryptoQuant have shifted from bearish to neutral, pointing to a consolidation phase where network advancement and price action continue to diverge. For now, XRP's infrastructure story is compelling — but the market is waiting for the price to catch up.
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