LONDON, May 28, 2026, 22:40 BST
XRP hovered close to $1.32 late Thursday, recovering some ground after dipping under $1.30 earlier in the day. The Ripple-related crypto saw a 24-hour range from $1.27 to $1.33, according to CoinGecko. Trading volume was around $2.38 billion, with total market value near $81.7 billion.
XRP dropped below $1.30, a level traders had been watching as support. CoinDesk said the token slipped from $1.3267 to $1.2993, briefly hitting $1.2931. Sellers pushed through the $1.3150 area. About 64 million XRP traded hands in the hour starting at 2300 UTC on May 27.
CME Group is set to move cryptocurrency futures and options to 24/7 trading starting at 4 p.m. Central Time on Friday, May 29, giving the change more punch because it brings regulated derivatives closer to nonstop spot crypto markets. Spot crypto already trades around the clock, but futures let traders bet on or hedge moves without owning the assets.
That alone isn’t a bullish trigger. But XRP heads into the weekend with a fresh market structure in play, as traders work out if the latest move was just a shakeout or if another drop is coming.
CME lists its XRP products as CFTC-regulated futures and options tied to the CME CF XRP-Dollar Reference Rate, a benchmark for the token. XRP options are shown as live on the exchange, offering firms another tool for exposure besides spot trading.
Risk appetite was still low. Barron’s said Thursday that bitcoin, ether, XRP and solana dropped after new U.S.-Iran strikes fueled concern in markets and sent oil higher, clouding rate cut bets. Paul Howard at crypto trading firm Wincent told Barron’s that sentiment was weaker and liquidity thin.
Bitcoin traded near $73,683 and ether hovered at $2,021, each down for the day. XRP’s drop stood out less with those movers in the red. Movements in bitcoin and ether are key for large-cap crypto action during macro stress.
Regulation stayed unsettled. Ripple CEO Brad Garlinghouse said, “The Anti-Crypto Army was defeated by the courts, by the voters, and by Trump,” pointing to the ongoing U.S. crypto struggle. He also argued that efforts against financial innovation were aimed at keeping the old system in place. Coinpedia Fintech News
XRP staking and taxes on rewards stirred debate after David Schwartz, Ripple’s former chief technology officer, weighed in. Schwartz talked about how staking rewards could be taxed if the XRP Ledger ever rolled out staking features. XRPL does not offer native staking, crypto.news noted. “If the staking rewards are created by the staking process, then it’s just like if you knitted a sweater,” Schwartz wrote.
RedotPay rolled out new payments features this week. The firm said it will let users put up XRP as collateral for a credit line with a 50% loan-to-value ratio. So, $1,000 in XRP backs $500 in spending. RedotPay also announced a way to send XRP and deliver Nigerian naira to a local account or wallet.
But the downside is clear. If bitcoin and ether stay weak on geopolitical worries, or XRP can’t stay above $1.30, quick traders might see this bounce as shaky. Thin liquidity can move the market in both directions, but when prices are slipping, it often means support breaks sooner.
XRP is still the native token for the XRP Ledger, an open-source payments blockchain, and holds its place among the top crypto assets by market cap. But traders aren’t looking at the payments story right now. The question is whether buyers can hold the line after losing a support level.
