XRP's Weekly Chart Flashes Death Cross as Ripple Joins Stablecoin Initiative and Senate Gridlock Deepens

XRP trades near $1.16 with death cross looming, but network activity surges as institutional adoption and a key US bill could determine next move.

XRP is walking a fine line between technical deterioration and underlying network strength. The token, trading near $1.16, finds itself trapped below a critical moving-average threshold while the ecosystem behind it sets new records. A death cross on the weekly chart threatens to seal a bearish outlook, yet on-chain activity suggests the infrastructure is gaining real traction.

The token has shed roughly 38% over the past twelve months, and the chart technicians are growing wary. The 20-week moving average is on the verge of slicing below the 200-week average, a classic death-cross pattern. That 200-week line has already flipped into a formidable resistance zone. Although XRP managed to climb above $1.08 recently, the move lacked the conviction needed to signal a lasting reversal. If support around $1.10 gives way, a retest of the psychologically important $1.00 level could follow.

On the upside, a decisive break above the current resistance opens the door to $1.29 and $1.40. But momentum is cooling, with the Relative Strength Index hovering at a neutral 56. The market is effectively waiting for a catalyst.

That catalyst may have to come from Washington. The CLARITY Act, which would classify XRP as a digital commodity, missed its July 4 deadline after getting bogged down in Senate disputes over ethics rules for members' crypto holdings. The next opportunity for a vote is August 7 — the last session before the summer recess. Prediction markets currently give the bill a 55% chance of passing, suggesting the outcome is far from certain.

While lawmakers dither, developers are building. The XRP Ledger is experiencing a surge in artificial-intelligence-driven applications. Transactions routed through a new protocol have exploded by 354%, reaching an all-time high. Ripple's own data shows that over $3 trillion in trading volume has been settled on the ledger via Ripple Prime. A 1,000% spike in payment activity earlier in the summer was dismissed as a short-lived fluke — likely internal exchange shuffling — but the underlying institutional adoption trend remains intact.

A further vote of confidence comes from a newly formed stablecoin project called Open USD. Financial heavyweights such as Visa, Mastercard, and BlackRock have lined up behind it, and Ripple is directly involved. While the partnership does not directly move XRP's price, it reinforces Ripple's standing as a blockchain pioneer. Net new wallet creation has responded: nearly 5,000 wallets were opened in a single day, the fastest clip in three months.

Institutional money is also trickling in via spot ETFs. US-based XRP ETF products attracted $17.19 million in fresh inflows during the first week of July, marking the ninth consecutive positive week. Total cumulative inflows now stand at roughly $1.5 billion. The steady buying suggests that long-term holders are using the price weakness to accumulate, even as regulatory uncertainty lingers.

For now, XRP remains caught between two key levels: support at $1.00 and resistance at $1.20. A daily close above the 50-day moving average at $1.21 would provide a credible bullish signal. But with the Senate vote pushed to August, the token is likely to follow the broader crypto market's swings in the interim. Should the $1.10 support hold, the token could build enough momentum to challenge the higher end of its range by the August deadline.