Gate News Bot Message, January 16th, according to CoinMarketCap data, as of press time, XRP (XRP) is trading at $2.07, down 1.39% in the past 24 hours, with a high of $2.19 and a low of $2.03. The current market cap is approximately $125.779 billion, ranked 5th.
XRP Ledger (XRPL) is a blockchain network built for commercial use, led by a global community of enterprises and developers dedicated to solving problems and creating value. The network has been proven to operate faultlessly for over ten years, offering a smooth development experience, low transaction costs, high performance, and sustainability. XRPL features open decentralization, simplified development, high-performance processing (settling thousands of transactions within seconds), transaction fees below one cent, and powerful functionalities such as decentralized exchanges, cross-currency payments, payment channels, multi-signature, and tokens. It has over 10 years of uninterrupted operation and supports validation of more than 63 million ledgers.
1️⃣ Whale Inflows Reach Two-Year Low, Mitigating Selling Pressure but Short-term Technicals Still Under Pressure
On-chain monitoring shows that whale transfers of XRP to trading platforms have fallen to their lowest level in nearly two years, with active transfers from large addresses significantly decreasing. CryptoQuant analysis indicates that the amount of XRP transferred by whales to exchanges once dropped to about 48 million tokens, then slightly rebounded to 56.1 million, remaining in a low range since 2021. This indicator is often used as a key reference to assess whether whales are preparing to sell; the current low level suggests market selling willingness has weakened, indicating a easing of selling pressure. From this perspective, the on-chain structure is not overly pessimistic for XRP, with some long-term holders preferring to hold or lock their positions. However, the price has not immediately responded positively, rebounding briefly before weakening again, showing that market sentiment still needs time to recover.
2️⃣ Spot ETF Capital Remains Resilient, Institutional Allocation Continues to Drive Demand
In the past 24 hours, the US XRP spot ETF recorded a net inflow of $17.06 million, with Grayscale XRP ETF GXRP seeing a single-day net inflow of $7.2 million, bringing its total net inflow to $287 million; Bitwise XRP ETF XRP had a single-day net inflow of $7.16 million, with a total net inflow of $310 million. The current net asset value of XRP spot ETFs has reached $1.51 billion, with a cumulative net inflow of $1.27 billion, and XRP’s net asset ratio stands at 1.21%. This scale of capital is a significant signal in the altcoin ETF space, indicating that institutional investors’ demand for XRP allocation continues to grow. Despite recent price pressures, the steady ETF net inflows suggest that institutional funds maintain a fundamental positive outlook on XRP’s long-term value.
3️⃣ Ripple Accelerates EU Regulatory Layout, Payment Infrastructure Compliance System Gradually Improves
Ripple has received preliminary approval for an Electronic Money Institution (EMI) license from the Luxembourg Financial Industry Supervisory Commission, marking an important breakthrough in its compliant payment operations within the EU. This approval, issued in the form of a “green light letter,” lays the foundation for Ripple to offer broader payment services across the EU once final compliance conditions are met. Coupled with the previously obtained FCA license in the UK, Ripple is establishing a dual regulatory framework to more efficiently advance cross-border payments, stablecoin applications, and asset tokenization settlements in key European financial markets. Ripple President stated that the EU is a leading jurisdiction in establishing a comprehensive digital asset regulatory framework, which provides certainty that helps financial institutions move blockchain technology from pilot phases to commercial scale. This progress directly enhances XRP’s practical application scenarios in on-chain financial infrastructure, providing regulatory certainty for institutional payment needs.
4️⃣ On-Chain Settlement of Real-World Assets Takes Shape, XRP Gains High-Value Functional Demand
Dubai has launched a government-supported real estate transaction platform allowing investors to buy and trade real estate shares via blockchain, with XRP directly used as the core settlement tool. This is a significant case where high-value real-world assets are first realized on-chain through compliant splitting, trading, and settlement. In this application, XRP is no longer just a trading asset but becomes a direct settlement medium for property share transactions. Leveraging XRP Ledger’s high throughput and low transaction costs, transfers and settlements of property tokens can be completed nearly in real-time. This model provides a clear real financial demand foundation for XRP, gradually shifting it from a speculative asset to a functional financial infrastructure.
5️⃣ Evernorth IPO Preparation Advances, XRP Reserve Value Anchor Mechanism Perfected
Ripple-supported XRP reserve entity Evernorth is preparing to go public via SPAC merger on NASDAQ under the ticker XRPN. The company holds 388 million XRP tokens, currently valued at about $812 million. Evernorth CEO stated that the timing is “perfect,” emphasizing the company’s favorable regulatory environment, government support, and readiness to adopt institutional standards. Although recent valuations of crypto reserve companies have faced pressure, Evernorth not only provides XRP exposure but also handles custody, compliance, and security obligations, representing an important institutional-level XRP holding solution. This development will further strengthen XRP’s position as a regulated financial asset.
6️⃣ On-Chain Wallet Count and Wealthiest List Scale Both Expand, Long-term User Base Steadily Grows
Since mid-December 2025, the XRP whale list has added over 25,000 new wallet addresses, setting a new monthly growth record. This growth is not concentrated in a single tier but covers all address ranges from the top 0.1% to the top 10%, indicating that funds of various sizes are increasing holdings or entering the market. Meanwhile, the total number of wallets holding XRP has increased from 7.41 million to over 7.51 million, with about 99,000 new addresses added in just the past month. Since the low point of $1.84 on December 17, 2025, XRP has rebounded about 14%, currently stabilizing around $2.1. The simultaneous increase in wallet count and price enhances market confidence in XRP holding the key support level of $2. Wallet growth usually indicates expanding demand, helping to ease selling pressure and improve price resilience.
7️⃣ Australia Trading Activity Ranks Breakthrough, Surpassing Bitcoin for the First Time in Four Years
XRP has achieved a key breakthrough in the Australian crypto market, becoming the most traded digital asset on the platform, a first in four years where XRP’s trading volume has surpassed Bitcoin. Strong local community support and the deep integration of XRP with Ripple’s ODL cross-border payment system are key reasons for its rapid volume increase. From an asset perspective, XRP’s appeal is not solely due to price volatility but also its practical use in low-cost, high-efficiency cross-border payments. Improving regulatory clarity, rising network usage, and increased community engagement have collectively driven continuous volume growth. This shift reflects a market transition from early speculative phases toward more rational, function-driven development.
8️⃣ Short-term Technical Consolidation at High Levels, Key Support Holds to Buffer Downside Risks
XRP has shown high-level consolidation over the past week. After reaching a high of $2.41 on January 5th, the price gradually retraced to $2.07, giving back part of the gains from the past three weeks. Currently, the price repeatedly tests the $2.00 to $2.22 range, with the $2.02 level serving as a Fibonacci support and short-term moving average support. Although short-term upward momentum has weakened, the overall structure remains in high-level consolidation, with no signs of trend reversal. The total crypto market cap has fallen about 1.09% in the past 24 hours to around $32.3 trillion, with mainstream assets under pressure, reducing XRP’s independent movement space. Historically, whale inflows in 2021 reached similar lows and were followed by a significant rally; whether this pattern repeats depends on overall market sentiment recovery and subsequent on-chain demand changes.
This message is not investment advice; please be aware of market volatility risks.