In a rare weekend surge, XRP climbed above $1.50 for the first time in nearly two months on May 10, while Bitcoin briefly reclaimed the $82,000 mark, igniting a broader crypto market rally. Bitstamp data shows XRP touched $1.506 before pulling back to $1.45 as of 4 a.m. EST, still up approximately 2% in 24 hours — vastly outperforming the broader market's 0.1% gain.
ETF Inflows and Exchange Withdrawals Boost Momentum
The rally was underpinned by strong capital inflows into spot XRP ETFs. According to Sosovalue, net inflows totaled $34.21 million over the past week, bringing the fund's total net asset value to $1.12 billion (asset ratio 1.26%). Additionally, approximately $115 million worth of XRP was withdrawn from exchanges, tightening available supply. As a result, XRP's market capitalization briefly surpassed $92.6 billion before settling near $90 billion — up from about $87 billion earlier in the day.
Institutional Validation: XRP Ledger Treasury Tests
Sentiment received a further boost from a high-profile test on the XRP Ledger. As reported by Bitcoin.com News, Ripple, Mastercard, and J.P. Morgan's Kinexys jointly executed the first near-real-time cross-border redemption of tokenized U.S. Treasuries on XRPL. The transaction is hailed as a key milestone, demonstrating the ledger's utility for institutional-grade settlement. Separately, Ondo Finance completed a pilot redemption of tokenized Treasuries into a Singapore bank via XRPL, underscoring growing adoption of the network for real-world asset (RWA) use cases.
Data shows XRPL-based tokenized assets have grown 45% over the past 30 days to $3.03 billion, while stablecoin volumes reached $498 million. This expanding ecosystem reinforces XRP's utility narrative and attracts both retail and institutional interest.
Negative Funding Rates Signal Potential Upside
Despite being down more than 21% from its January 6 peak of $2.40 and trading largely in a $1.30–$1.50 range since early February, analysts are pointing to a contrarian signal. XRP's funding rates have remained negative since February 2026, a condition that preceded the 2025 rally to $3.60. According to market observers, persistent negative funding suggests shorts are dominant, often setting the stage for a sharp squeeze higher.
Looking ahead, XRP faces resistance above $1.50 but has built a solid foundation through ETF inflows, institutional partnerships, and growing RWA adoption. Whether it can break decisively higher will depend on macro conditions and continued momentum in the broader crypto market.