Ripple remains one of the most discussed subjects in the crypto space as the company continues to advance its ecosystem and participate in major initiatives.

However, XRP has faced heavy pressure in the extended bear market, struggling to maintain momentum and hold above the $1 psychological barrier.

Joining the Giants

Several hours ago, Ripple announced that it is “proud to join” Open USD as a “day-one integration partner,” reinforcing its commitment to multichain infrastructure supporting institutional adoption across the crypto space.

Open USD (OUSD) is a new stablecoin designed for large-scale global payments. It is built by the independent organization Open Standard and aims to address several issues businesses face when using such financial products. OUSD is expected to go live later in 2026, and prominent backers include BlackRock, Visa, Mastercard, American Express, Coinbase, and others.

Just a few days ago, Ripple received approval from the Japanese Financial Services Agency (JFSA) to launch its own stablecoin (called RULSD) in the country. Shortly after, it revealed that last year it had committed $25 million in RLUSD to support underserved US small business owners and career programs for military veterans.

Despite these efforts, the stablecoin has lost some steam lately. Its market capitalization has dropped to roughly $1.4 billion, making it the 49th-biggest cryptocurrency.

The ETFs

The institutional interest in XRP remains solid. Over the past several weeks, ETF inflows have far exceeded outflows, signaling that pension funds, hedge funds, and other conservative market participants continue to increase their exposure to the asset.

Since day one, these products have generated a cumulative total net inflow of almost $1.5 billion. Recall that the first company to launch a spot XRP ETF in the USA was Canary Capital, while shortly after, Bitwise, Franklin Templeton, 21Shares, and Grayscale followed suit.

It is important to note that such investment vehicles with BTC and ETH as underlying assets have been bleeding heavily in recent months, underscoring a clear decline in institutional appetite.

XRP Price Outlook

Despite the aforementioned developments, XRP continues its fight to stay above $1. As of press time, it trades at around $1.04, representing a 20% plunge on a monthly scale.

Earlier this week, analyst Ali Martinez revealed that the Tom DeMark Sequential Indicator has flashed a buy signal on XRP and outlined the rising network activity. At the same time, though, he noted that whales have reduced their exposure to the asset, which can be interpreted as a bearish factor.

Source: CryptoPotato