XRP has recently underperformed the overall crypto market. Foreign media commentators suggest that this pullback is more driven by macroeconomic risk aversion than by a single XRP-related event. The report mentions that Alphabet's earnings report raised concerns about the return on investment in AI, while Trump's statement that he was close to ordering an expanded military strike against Iran put pressure on risk assets across the board.
XRP is currently trading at $1.11, down 2.39% on the day. The article argues that although the price had previously risen to $1.16, it subsequently fell back to around $1.10, indicating that the rebound was still limited.
ETF inflows have not altered market trends.
The legal and market environment for XRP has changed significantly over the past year. Foreign media reports that the years-long lawsuit between the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission and Ripple has ended, with both parties withdrawing their appeals, and the original $125 million fine reduced to $50 million.
Meanwhile, there are already seven XRP spot ETFs in the US market. The report cites data showing that as of the end of June, these products had seen a cumulative net inflow of nearly $1.47 billion. However, after several weeks of net inflows, a net outflow of approximately $7.18 million occurred in early July.
The article argues that while ETF funds bring incremental growth, the current holdings of XRP only account for about 1% to 2% of the circulating supply, thus their direct impact on price remains limited.
RLUSD expansion may not necessarily benefit XRP
Ripple's launch of the stablecoin RLUSD is also considered one of the most significant developments in the past year. Reports indicate that RLUSD's market capitalization has risen to approximately $1.5 billion, roughly three times that of a year ago, and Mastercard is also testing a settlement solution based on Ripple's infrastructure.
However, the commentary points out that RLUSD's impact on XRP isn't necessarily entirely positive. This is because USD stablecoins can already fulfill the value transfer function in cross-border transactions, and users may not need to hold XRP. Currently, over 45% of the RLUSD supply is deployed on Ethereum, not XRP Ledger.
The article also mentions that while Ripple's on-demand liquidity business can generate trading volume, XRP is usually only held briefly for a few seconds during the trading process. This type of use case is more likely to generate turnover rather than necessarily translate into long-term holding demand.
Supply release remains the main pressure.
Besides the demand side, the supply side remains a key focus for the market. Foreign media reports that Ripple releases approximately 200 to 300 million XRP into the market each month through custody, with about 38 billion XRP currently locked up and more to be released in the future.
On-chain activity has not improved significantly either. The report mentions that the total value locked in lending and trading applications on XRP Ledger has fallen by about 70% from its peak in 2025. This means that even with increased external positive factors, on-chain fund accumulation and application activity have not recovered in tandem.
In addition, OpenUSD, a new stablecoin alliance supported by more than 140 companies, was also mentioned, including Visa, Mastercard, Coinbase, and BlackRock. The article argues that this makes Ripple more of a player, rather than the sole core, in the competition for payment infrastructure.
The CLARITY bill remains stuck in the Senate.
On the regulatory front, the CLARITY Act has yet to garner sufficient support. The report points out that the bill requires 60 votes in the Senate to advance, but Republicans are not yet fully unified in their stance, let alone in securing Democratic support.
The article states that some lawmakers are concerned the bill could lead to a loss of bank deposits, while others oppose its ethical provisions. Elizabeth Warren has publicly called for a vote against it. Although Goldman Sachs CEO David Solomon supports pushing forward with the legislation, the delayed release of the bill's text has brought negotiations close to the window before the August 7 recess.
Additional information:The article also mentioned that BitMEX will close on September 23, which some market participants see as a signal that deleveraging in the industry is still ongoing.
