At 1:58 p.m. ET on Thursday, December 18, 2025, XRP (XRP-USD) traded at about $1.84, hovering near the lower end of the day’s range after another volatile stretch for crypto markets. XRP’s intraday high was $1.93 and the intraday low was $1.83, underscoring how tightly the token has been oscillating around the $1.80–$2.00 battleground that traders have watched for weeks.
XRP’s price action today is being shaped by a familiar tug-of-war: macro headlines and risk appetite on one side, and token-specific fundamentals—ETFs, institutional infrastructure, and on-chain signals—on the other.
XRP price today (1:58 PM ET): the key numbers traders are watching
Here’s the market snapshot around 1:58 p.m. ET:
- Price: ~$1.84
- Day range:$1.83 – $1.93
- Immediate psychological level:$2.00
- Market structure: still consolidating below $2 after repeated attempts to reclaim it [1]
Across major data aggregators, XRP’s market cap is roughly in the $110B–$113B area, with 24-hour trading volume around the mid-$3B range, reflecting active turnover even as direction remains uncertain. [2]
The big macro catalyst today: U.S. CPI surprises lower, but data quality concerns remain
A major driver of risk sentiment on December 18 was the long-awaited U.S. inflation release.
The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported that headline CPI rose 2.7% year-over-year for November 2025, and the “core” CPI (excluding food and energy) rose 2.6% year-over-year. The report also notes the unusual statistical context: the government did not collect survey data for October 2025 due to a lapse in appropriations, complicating month-to-month comparisons. [3]
Reuters highlighted that the inflation moderation was likely influenced by technical factors and delayed data collection, with market participants treating the release as supportive for rate-cut expectations—but also “noisier than usual.” [4]
So why does that matter for XRP price today?
Crypto—especially liquid, high-beta tokens—often trades as a macro-sensitive risk asset. A softer CPI print can lift sentiment broadly, but XRP hasn’t cleanly “followed through” today, suggesting the market is still weighing other forces: positioning, liquidity, and altcoin-specific demand.
Why XRP is still struggling below $2 despite bullish headlines
Several Dec. 18 analyses converge on the same near-term tension: institutional interest appears steady, but retail participation and momentum look weaker.
FXStreet’s XRP coverage today noted that the token remains caught between support around $1.82 and resistance around $2.00, while highlighting signs that retail demand is waning—a theme echoed in derivatives metrics. [5]
One of the most-cited indicators: futures open interest. FXStreet reported that XRP futures open interest slid to around $3.31 billion, down from $3.52 billion the day before and $3.71 billion earlier in the week—often interpreted as leverage cooling off rather than aggressively rebuilding. [6]
In plain English: even when good news hits, price recoveries can stall if fresh marginal buyers (or leverage) don’t step in.
XRP ETF flows: still positive, but not “moving the needle” yet
If 2025 had one structural shift for XRP narratives, it’s the arrival of U.S.-listed spot XRP ETFs—and today’s reporting again shows inflows continuing.
A Dec. 18 market brief published by TMGM, citing SoSoValue data, said XRP spot ETF inflows have been steady since their debut on November 13, with approximately $19 million deposited on Wednesday and cumulative net inflows reaching about $1.03 billion, while net assets stood near $1.14 billion. [7]
FXStreet similarly reported that an $18 million inflow into U.S.-listed XRP ETFs failed to spark a meaningful rebound, reinforcing the view that macro risk-off behavior is still overpowering the “ETF bid” in the very short term. [8]
What this means for XRP price today: ETFs can be a slow burn. The market may need either:
- a larger wave of inflows,
- a catalyst that shifts broader risk sentiment, or
- a decisive technical breakout above key levels (like $2.00)
to transform steady inflows into a sustained trend.
Ripple news today: Ripple expands partnership with TJM in institutional trading and clearing
One of the most important XRP-adjacent fundamental headlines on Dec. 18 came directly from Ripple.
Ripple announced an expanded strategic partnership with TJM Investments (a FINRA-registered broker-dealer) and TJM Institutional Services (an NFA-registered introducing broker). Ripple said it has invested in TJM and will provide infrastructure supporting TJM’s execution and clearing services. [9]
Ripple also stated that the partnership leverages Ripple Prime—its multi-asset prime brokerage platform—and that TJM expects to expand coverage into digital assets in the coming months for clients including hedge funds, family offices, asset managers, and global investors. [10]
For XRP investors, this matters in two ways:
- Institutional plumbing: Clearing, collateral efficiency, and execution quality are unglamorous—but they’re the “pipes” that can bring more professional flows into digital assets.
- Narrative alignment: Ripple explicitly positions XRP and its stablecoin strategy as part of a broader enterprise stack, potentially supporting long-term adoption (even if the token’s short-term chart remains choppy). [11]
Corporate and capital-market chatter: VivoPower’s “XRP proxy” angle
Another Dec. 18 headline that caught trader attention came from Decrypt: VivoPower said it plans to originate up to $300 million in Ripple Labs shares for an investment vehicle tied to South Korea-based Lean Ventures—framed as a way to get indirect exposure linked to Ripple and, by implication, XRP.
Decrypt reported VivoPower’s claim that the equity stake implies exposure to roughly 450 million XRP valued around $900 million at current prices, while emphasizing that the structure is equity-based rather than direct token ownership. [12]
Whether traders treat that as meaningful is debatable—but it reinforces a broader 2025 theme: capital-market products and corporate structures are increasingly being used to express “XRP exposure” in multiple ways, not just via spot trading.
On-chain and holder signals: long-term conviction rises, but network activity lags
While macro headlines dominate intraday swings, on-chain analysis published today paints a more nuanced picture.
BeInCrypto reported that XRP long-term holders have grown, with wallets holding XRP for one to two years increasing their supply share—controlling about 11.5% of circulating supply—which can be interpreted as investors “aging into conviction.” [13]
At the same time, BeInCrypto highlighted an elevated NVT ratio (network value to transactions), suggesting market valuation optimism may be outpacing on-chain transaction activity—often read as a caution flag when price tries to rally without matching network throughput. [14]
In short: holders may be getting stickier, but activity growth still needs to show up if the market wants a clean fundamental runway.
Supply concentration is back in focus: who controls XRP?
A separate Dec. 18 deep dive from Finbold—citing XRPScan data—put the spotlight on supply concentration. The piece states that among the top ten XRP holders, Ripple accounts for eight positions, with escrow accounts collectively holding 45 billion XRP, and the remaining two top-ten spots associated with major exchanges. [15]
This is not “new” information for long-time XRP watchers, but it is increasingly relevant as institutional adoption narratives grow: market participants tend to scrutinize custody concentration, escrow schedules, and transparency more closely when a token becomes a mainstream vehicle via ETFs and brokerage platforms.
XRP forecast and technical outlook for 18.12.2025: levels that matter now
Today’s forecasting and technical commentary clusters around a simple map:
Support zones
- $1.85–$1.83: where XRP has been repeatedly defending intraday (also today’s low area) [16]
- $1.82: widely cited as the next “line in the sand” support [17]
- $1.61: flagged as a deeper downside reference in some outlooks if bears regain full control [18]
Resistance zones
- $2.00: the headline psychological ceiling; repeated failures to hold above it keep sentiment fragile [19]
- Low $2s: some analysts describe additional resistance layers above $2.00 that would need to flip to support to confirm a trend change (rather than another short squeeze) [20]
Scenario-based forecast (how analysts frame it today)
- Bull case: XRP reclaims $2.00 and holds it, allowing ETF inflows and institutional news to translate into a cleaner uptrend.
- Bear case: XRP loses $1.82 decisively, increasing the probability of a move toward lower reference levels (including the $1.60s cited in market commentary). [21]
A second macro thread: yen carry-trade fears and global rates volatility
Beyond U.S. CPI, at least one widely circulated Dec. 18 XRP market note tied weakness in crypto to global rates volatility, particularly Japan.
FXEmpire argued that “yen carry trade” jitters were pressuring crypto, highlighting a surge in Japanese government bond yields and describing XRP as vulnerable toward $1.82 in a risk-off swing—while still pointing to a more constructive medium-term outlook if institutional demand remains firm. [22]
Whether or not traders buy this exact framing, the broader point is consistent with what XRP holders have experienced repeatedly: when global leverage unwinds, liquid altcoins can fall quickly—even with strong project headlines.
How XRP fits into today’s broader crypto market story
Mainstream market coverage today portrayed crypto as choppy and headline-driven. Barron’s noted that Bitcoin remained below $90,000 while major tokens—including XRP—showed limited momentum, even as some crypto-related equities attempted a rebound. [23]
That context matters for XRP because it underscores what price action already shows: the token is trading in an environment where liquidity, sentiment, and macro positioning can overwhelm coin-specific fundamentals in the short run.
Bottom line for XRP price today at 1:58 PM ET
As of 1:58 p.m. ET on 18.12.2025, XRP sits near $1.84, still trapped below $2.00 even as the day brings a stack of catalysts:
- Macro: CPI surprised lower, boosting rate-cut chatter—but with caveats due to missing October data and collection distortions. [24]
- Fundamentals: Ripple’s expanded institutional execution/clearing partnership reinforces the long-term “infrastructure build-out” narrative. [25]
- Flows: Spot XRP ETF inflows remain positive, yet price response is muted amid weak retail/derivatives signals. [26]
- On-chain: long-term holding appears to rise, but network-activity metrics still look soft. [27]
References
1. www.fxstreet.com, 2. coinmarketcap.com, 3. www.bls.gov, 4. www.reuters.com, 5. www.fxstreet.com, 6. www.fxstreet.com, 7. www.tmgm.com, 8. www.fxstreet.com, 9. ripple.com, 10. ripple.com, 11. ripple.com, 12. decrypt.co, 13. beincrypto.com, 14. beincrypto.com, 15. finbold.com, 16. beincrypto.com, 17. www.fxstreet.com, 18. www.tmgm.com, 19. www.fxstreet.com, 20. www.fxstreet.com, 21. www.fxstreet.com, 22. www.fxempire.com, 23. www.barrons.com, 24. www.bls.gov, 25. ripple.com, 26. www.fxstreet.com, 27. beincrypto.com
