The XRP Ledger is starting to get a lot more attention from big players in finance. Names like Mastercard, BlackRock, and Franklin Templeton are increasingly exploring the space, and that’s feeding into a more optimistic outlook for XRP.
At the Digital Assets Forum 2026, World Bank fintech specialist Odelia Torteman described DeFi as the “middleware” of future finance — essentially the layer that connects everything. She pointed to the XRP Ledger as something designed specifically for fast, transparent movement of value across different types of assets.
That idea isn’t just theoretical. Activity on the network is picking up quickly. Real-world asset (RWA) usage on XRPL has reportedly jumped by around 875%, with the total value of tokenized assets nearing $2.5 billion. There are also signs of real-world adoption — including reports that a major Japanese travel company is looking to move its prepaid payment systems onto the ledger, targeting a huge domestic market.
Put simply, institutional interest in XRP is growing — and it’s starting to show up in the data.
Where XRP stands right now
Even with all that momentum in the background, the price action is still relatively calm.
XRP is holding just above $1.40, but it keeps running into resistance around its short-term averages. Trading volume is fairly muted too, which usually means the market is waiting for a clearer trigger before making a bigger move.
Right now, the key levels look like this:
Support: Around $1.35, with a stronger floor near $1.30
Resistance: Between $1.50 and $1.55
Breakout zone: A solid move above ~$1.53 could open the door to higher targets
If that breakout happens, some forecasts — including projections tied to 21Shares — point toward the high-$2 range by year-end. Others, like Jim Willie, take a much more aggressive view, suggesting XRP could climb far higher over time if banks begin using it more heavily for settlement.
The bigger opportunity (and the wait)
Ripple has previously pointed to a massive payments opportunity — potentially worth trillions — through its financial infrastructure products. The long-term case for XRP is tied closely to how much of that opportunity actually materializes.
Some projections even stretch as far as $20+ over the next decade if adoption scales globally. But for now, the market isn’t moving that fast. Price action suggests this is more of a “wait and watch” phase than an immediate breakout story.
Where some investors are looking next
Because XRP is already fairly established, the kind of outsized gains seen in its early days are harder to come by. That’s why some traders are exploring earlier-stage projects tied to the broader crypto ecosystem.
One example getting attention is Bitcoin Hyper. It’s aiming to build a Layer 2 solution for Bitcoin that combines faster execution with smart contract functionality, using Solana-style infrastructure while still relying on Bitcoin’s security.
The pitch is straightforward: fix Bitcoin’s biggest limitations — speed, cost, and programmability — in one system. Whether it delivers on that is still an open question, but it reflects a broader trend of innovation happening around major networks.
