Regulatory Momentum Fuels XRP’s Ascent

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The price of XRP advanced to approximately $2.15 on Thursday, cementing a year-to-date gain of roughly 19%. This upward trajectory is being driven by concurrent regulatory developments on both sides of the Atlantic: Ripple securing pivotal licenses in Europe and a landmark cryptocurrency bill being debated in the United States.

Beyond regulatory news, underlying market dynamics are providing fundamental support. The suite of U.S.-based XRP ETFs, launched in November 2025, has accumulated between $1.2 and $1.3 billion. An additional $28 million flowed into these funds on January 13th and 14th alone, bringing the total assets under management to about $1.54 billion.

Simultaneously, the quantity of XRP held on exchanges has plummeted to a seven-year low of around 1.6 billion tokens. This represents a 57% decline since October 2025, indicating a strong holder trend where investors are moving their assets into private cold storage. This withdrawal from trading venues is effectively constricting the readily available supply.

European Expansion Gains Formal Approval

Ripple's European strategy received significant validation in January. On the 14th, the company obtained a provisional Electronic Money Institution license from Luxembourg's CSSF, the financial regulator. This authorization is a strategic gateway, granting Ripple passporting rights to offer services across the entire Eurozone through a single license. This followed the company's receipt of a full license from the UK's Financial Conduct Authority just one week prior.

The combination of UK and EU regulatory approval unlocks the substantial cross-border payments market within these two critical economic regions for Ripple. Market activity responded positively, with 24-hour trading volume surging 74% to $4.65 billion.

U.S. Legislative Debate Reaches Critical Juncture

While Ripple progresses in Europe, the U.S. crypto industry is divided over the proposed CLARITY Act. The Senate Banking Committee is scheduled to debate the bill today. Ripple CEO Brad Garlinghouse has endorsed the draft legislation as a necessary move toward greater regulatory clarity. In a contrasting move, Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong withdrew his support on January 14th, citing concerns that the proposed restrictions on decentralized finance (DeFi) are overly stringent.

The outcome of today's Senate hearing is expected to set the short-term directional tone for the market. From a technical analysis perspective, maintaining support at the $2.10 level is viewed as crucial for XRP to mount a challenge on the next key resistance zone near $2.40.