XRP traded in a narrow range between $1.29 and $1.31 hours after Ripple announced it received final approval from the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) to establish a national trust bank. A subsequent report that SBI Holdings teamed up with Blackrock and Startale to link tokenized funds with a yen stablecoin also failed to spark a rally.
Market data over the last 24 hours showed XRP initially rose from $1.29 to $1.31 on the OCC news, but momentum stalled and the token retreated to $1.30, leaving a daily gain of less than 1%. The sideways trading leaves XRP virtually unchanged over seven days and down more than 15% since the start of October.
Price action diverges from past catalysts
While XRP's recent price action mirrors the broader cryptocurrency market, it also highlights a shifting dynamic in its valuation. Over the past two years, legal victories against the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, key partnership announcements, and growing adoption of the XRP Ledger drove price gains.
After reaching an all-time high of $3.66 in July 2025, XRP entered a broader downtrend that even high-profile partnerships could not reverse. After dipping below $1 in mid-August for the first time in nearly two years, XRP rebounded as crypto markets rallied on U.S. Treasury bond buyback plans. However, as sentiment around the buybacks faded, XRP resumed its decline, showing little reaction to the OCC news.
Whale concentration hits multiyear high
The sluggish price performance has fueled investor frustration on social media, with market participants arguing the coin is failing to react to positive ecosystem developments. Some community members question why increased activity on the XRP Ledger has not translated into token demand, while others point out that competing assets have posted substantial gains on what they saw as more minor announcements. This perceived disconnect has led to unsubstantiated claims of price suppression and market manipulation.
Influencers have also faced backlash for repeatedly promoting aggressive price targets and imminent breakouts. Long-term holders criticize predictions of double- or triple-digit valuations as exaggerated promises.
Ironwallet Managing Director Ermo Eero said the market's shrug at Ripple's final OCC approval makes sense because the real news broke last December, when the conditional charter was granted. What Ripple now has is a federally supervised trust bank to safeguard RLUSD reserves and offer enterprise custody, something that does not create new demand for XRP.
"This is infrastructure rather than a catalyst, and infrastructure tends to pay off over years, not days, as institutions gain a regulated path into digital assets," Eero told Bitcoin.com News.
According to Eero, the real test will come over the next few quarters, when it becomes clear whether federal oversight of RLUSD translates into measurable growth in institutional adoption and settlement volumes.
Despite retail frustration, large investors continue accumulating the token. Data from analytics platform Santiment Intelligence shows that wallets holding at least 10 million XRP control 46.87 billion tokens, roughly 68.5% of the circulating supply. This represents the highest concentration held by this group since November 2022.
Santiment noted that these large holders have expanded their positions even as XRP struggles near $1.29. Continued accumulation during price weakness suggests strong conviction among institutional-scale holders, potentially setting up a bullish structure if retail traders capitulate.
Analysts view $1.30 as the immediate pivot point, with $1.50 serving as key confirmation for a broader recovery. As long as XRP holds above $1.20 and whale balances remain near multiyear highs, the long-term accumulation thesis remains intact.
