Positive social sentiment around XRP climbed 240% over the past 30 days, reaching its highest level in two years. Data from Sanbase, the analytics platform run by Santiment, shows the recovery has brought sentiment back to levels last seen at the start of 2024. The sharp shift has coincided with broader real-world utility for XRP, with the latest catalyst coming from Rakuten’s payment network in Japan.
Rakuten Wallet links loyalty points with XRP usage
Rakuten is one of Japan’s largest payment and loyalty platforms, serving about 44 million users. Through the new integration with Rakuten Wallet, users can convert loyalty points directly into XRP and trade the token inside the app. XRP obtained through Rakuten Pay can also be spent at more than 5 million physical and online merchants across Japan, giving the asset a much wider payments footprint.
Ripple executives described the move as the broadest real-world use of XRP so far on a global basis. In its official statement, the company said the partnership brings together Rakuten’s rewards programs, payment rails, and crypto ecosystem, materially expanding XRP adoption in day-to-day commerce.
Sentiment spikes, but price remains boxed in below a key zone
Santiment said XRP’s social sentiment index has reached its second-highest reading in two years, with a score of 3.9. That level is 240% above the reading seen after a price drop of more than 20% at the end of March. Even with that improvement, price action has not cleared a major barrier.
Over the last 24 hours, XRP/USD posted a gain of about 2%. The token still trades roughly 62% below its all-time high of $3.66, set in July 2025. After falling to $1.27 in early April, XRP rebounded 18% and then pulled back from $1.48. It is now moving inside the $1.40 to $1.45 range, an area analysts say lines up with the upper boundary of a triangle pattern as well as the 50-day and 100-day moving averages.
On-chain supply cluster may cap short-term upside
Glassnode data indicates that about 2 billion XRP are held at an average cost basis between $1.40 and $1.45. That concentration matters. If price breaks above the zone, holders sitting near breakeven may sell into strength, which could slow any short-term advance.
Some market commentators say a clean move above $1.40 could unlock a stronger rally. Technical analysis cited in the source points to $2.10 as a possible upside target, nearly 50% above current levels. Analyst ChartNerd said on Friday that sustained trading above $1.40 could trigger a larger move, while Cointelegraph’s analysis noted that XRP/USD would need to hold support at $1.27 and reclaim key moving averages for a new bullish trend to take shape.