Ripple (XRP), institutional investors pouring in and global expansion driving the continued upward trend

Ripple (XRP) continues its strong upward momentum, driven by large-scale institutional capital inflows and global ecosystem expansion. As of April 18, 2026, XRP's trading price is approximately $1.44 per coin, with a seven-day increase of about 6.7%. While maintaining its position as the fourth-largest market cap globally, its spot ETF cumulative inflows have surpassed $14 billion, attracting market attention.

XRP Spot ETF Sets Record for Largest Capital Inflows in April

The total inflow of XRP spot ETFs has now exceeded $14 billion. Weekly data alone shows approximately $119 million in new funds flowing in, confirming ongoing institutional demand. Notably, April has become the month with the highest XRP ETF capital inflows since 2026, with $65.89 million already invested this month, and two weeks remaining in the period.

Bitwise XRP ETF and Franklin Templeton XRP ETF are the main drivers of this rally. In April alone, the Bitwise ETF recorded inflows of $39.59 million, setting a new record for a single product. This indicates that Wall Street-centered institutional investors are increasingly including XRP as a core component of their digital asset portfolios.

Lotte Wallet Integration and RLUSD Launch Accelerate Ecosystem Expansion

Alongside institutional capital inflows, expanding real-world use cases are also a key driver of XRP's rise. Japan’s largest e-commerce platform, Lotte Wallet, has integrated XRP payment and points redemption functions. This integration will enable 44 million Lotte users to pay with XRP at tens of millions of merchants across Japan.

The Ripple-issued stablecoin, Ripple USD (RLUSD), has also completed full deployment on the XRP Ledger (XRPL) and Ethereum networks. The official circulation of RLUSD is expected to significantly enhance payment and liquidity infrastructure within the Ripple ecosystem. Additionally, XRP has been wrapped as (wXRP) on the Solana network, reaching on-chain trading volume of $291 million, successfully achieving cross-chain expansion.

Market Data Overview of XRP

According to CoinMarketCap data, as of 10:57 UTC on April 18, 2026, XRP’s price is $1.4378. The 24-hour trading volume is approximately $4.02 billion, with the highest proportion on centralized exchanges (CEX) at $4.02B. Its market capitalization stands at $88.53B, with a market share of 3.44%.

The seven-day increase is 6.68%, indicating solid short-term momentum. The 30-day and 90-day changes are -1.76% and -30.1%, respectively, showing a recovery phase after medium- and long-term adjustments. The current circulating supply is 61.56968 billion XRP, with a maximum supply fixed at 100 billion XRP.

Geopolitical Tensions Easing Creates Favorable Environment for XRP Rebound

As global geopolitical uncertainties ease and risk appetite recovers, XRP has gained 7.5% over the past seven trading days. Under this trend, XRP has successfully surpassed BNB, ranking as the fourth-largest cryptocurrency by market cap.

Analysis indicates that the overall positive sentiment in the crypto market, combined with growing institutional demand and expanding real-world applications, has strengthened short-term price support for XRP.

CLARITY Act Faces Uncertainty; Short-term Regulatory Expectations Need Cooling

However, regulatory uncertainties remain. The likelihood of the key cryptocurrency legislation, the CLARITY Act, passing in 2026 has dropped to a 54-60% range according to Polymarket predictions. Since market expectations for the bill’s passage have already been partly priced in, any delays in the legislative process could trigger short-term corrections.

As long as uncertainties around the bill’s specific content and timing persist, they may impact the pace of institutional investor entry. Experts believe that, given XRP’s solid fundamentals, a substantial rebound could occur once regulatory risks are resolved.

TokenPost AI Disclaimer This article is summarized using the TokenPost.ai language model. There may be omissions of main content or discrepancies with actual facts.