Fed’s Crypto Banking Proposal Sets Stage for Ripple as Goldman Exits and XRP Network Hits Records

The Federal Reserve proposes payment accounts for non-bank crypto firms, while Goldman Sachs liquidates $154M in XRP ETF holdings and XRP sees record inflows and network activity.

The Federal Reserve’s decision to open a public comment period on so-called “payment accounts” for non-bank financial firms has injected a fresh dose of regulatory drama into the crypto landscape. The move, announced a day after President Trump’s latest executive order, would give companies like Ripple, Circle and Anchorage Digital direct access to Fedwire and the real-time settlement system FedNow — a privilege previously reserved for traditional banks. But the terms are tightly drawn: accounts come with no intraday credit, no access to the discount window, no interest payments, and a cap of $500 million or 10% of the account holder’s total assets, whichever is lower. The Fed has set a 60-day public consultation window, while simultaneously freezing new applications for “Tier 3” risk category firms — the bucket that captures most crypto entities — until the end of 2026. Kraken Financial remains the sole crypto company with an already approved master account, granted by the Kansas City Fed in March.

Yet even as the central bank tentatively opens its doors, some of Wall Street’s most prominent institutions are heading in the opposite direction. Goldman Sachs liquidated all its XRP exchange-traded fund positions in the first quarter of 2026, unloading holdings worth roughly $154 million that had made the bank a dominant player in the sector. The exit marks a stark reversal from the end of 2025, when Goldman controlled nearly three-quarters of the institutional holdings in XRP ETFs. The broader market, however, shows no sign of flagging appetite. Cumulative net inflows into US spot XRP ETFs have reached $1.39 billion since their launch in November 2025, with assets under management now above $1 billion. Last week alone, $67.6 million poured into XRP investment products — a 70% jump from the prior week — and on May 20 daily inflows hit $1.48 million, double the previous day’s figure. Franklin Templeton and Canary have led the charge; Canary’s fund has collected $445 million to date.

The futures market echoes the demand. The CME Group reported that XRP futures generated roughly $63 billion in notional volume during their first year of trading, with more than 1.3 million contracts executed through May 15. Open interest in XRP futures stands at nearly $2.93 billion. Analysts at Standard Chartered see room to run further, predicting additional inflows in the billions if the CLARITY Act passes the US Senate before the August recess. Bitwise analysts have set a price target of up to $4.94 for XRP this year, conditional on the same legislative catalyst.

Underneath the price action, the XRP Ledger is humming with activity. Monthly transactions hit an all-time high of 71 million in April 2026, while the number of wallets holding at least 10,000 XRP climbed to 332,230 — another record that signals accumulation by larger market participants. Network validators have until May 27 to upgrade to version 3.1.3 to activate the fixCleanup3_1_3 amendment; so far only about 40% of the 846 nodes have completed the update. On the stablecoin front, Ripple’s own RLUSD has seen its market capitalization surpass $1.65 billion, and direct access to Fed settlement systems would provide a substantial strategic advantage for the token.

The price of XRP itself, however, remains stubbornly detached from these bullish fundamentals. At $1.36 to $1.37, the token is trading more than 20% below its 200-day moving average of $1.70 and has lost roughly 28% since the start of the year. Immediate resistance sits at $1.42, with a heavier wall near $1.46 where Glassnode data shows a large cluster of underwater positions. Support holds around $1.35, with a stronger floor at $1.30. The current consolidation reflects a market waiting for a definitive signal — either from the Senate vote on CLARITY or from the Fed’s final decision after the 60-day comment period ends. Until then, the divide between institutional retreat and regulatory advance leaves XRP in an uneasy equilibrium.