XRP’s Consolidation Phase Persists Amid Strong Fundamentals

The price of XRP has been trading in a tight range for several days, hovering around the psychologically significant $2.00 level. Despite three consecutive days of losses, the asset is demonstrating notable fundamental strength, creating a complex market narrative. Key developments include Ripple securing a pivotal banking license, the launch of wrapped XRP on multiple blockchains, and consistent inflows into spot ETFs.

Technical Picture Shows Sideways Movement

Currently trading near $2.04, XRP’s price action has been largely stagnant. The consolidation is occurring around the 50% Fibonacci retracement level, with an ascending triangle pattern forming on the charts. The Relative Strength Index (RSI) sits at 42, indicating a market that is neither overbought nor oversold. The Moving Average Convergence Divergence (MACD) is compressing, suggesting a potential bullish crossover may be imminent.

From a technical perspective, $2.00 serves as crucial support. Resistance levels are observed at the 50-day Exponential Moving Average (EMA) of $2.23 and the 200-day EMA at $2.46. A break below the $2.00 support could see the price test subsequent levels at $1.91 and $1.82.

On-Chain Metrics Signal Potential Undervaluation

Data from Santiment reveals that among the top ten cryptocurrencies, XRP is the only one with a significantly negative 30-day Market Value to Realized Value (MVRV) ratio of -6.1%. This metric indicates that the average investor who purchased XRP in the last month is currently at a loss. For comparison, Bitcoin shows a neutral MVRV of +2.4%, while Ethereum’s +7.2% suggests it is slightly overvalued.

Derivative markets reflect caution. XRP’s Open Interest Z-Score is at a neutral 0.11, a stark contrast to the speculative extremes seen in previous months when the value exceeded 3.0. Open interest for XRP perpetual contracts stands at approximately 545 million tokens, lower than November’s levels.

Should investors sell immediately? Or is it worth buying XRP?

Major Developments Underpin the Asset

1. Ripple Secures National Trust Bank Charter
On December 12, 2025, the U.S. Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) approved Ripple’s application for a national trust bank license. This move places Ripple among approximately 60 supervised trust banks and grants it access to traditional financial infrastructure. Comptroller Jonathan V. Gould stated that new entrants to the federal banking sector benefit customers, the industry, and the economy by introducing new products, services, and credit sources, fostering a dynamic and competitive system. This license could unlock additional use cases for XRP in cross-border payments, institutional liquidity operations, and foreign exchange.

2. Cross-Chain Expansion with Wrapped XRP
Institutional crypto custodian Hex Trust has launched Wrapped XRP (wXRP), a 1:1 backed version of the asset now tradable on the Ethereum, Solana, Optimism, and HyperEVM blockchains. The initiative launched with a Total Value Locked (TVL) exceeding $100 million. Utilizing LayerZero’s OFT standard for secure cross-chain transfers, each wXRP token is backed by real XRP held in segregated institutional custody. Ripple’s Chief Technology Officer, David Schwartz, endorsed the project, noting that expanding XRP ecosystems is beneficial, building utility across more environments while the XRP Ledger remains the foundational anchor.

3. Sustained ETF Inflows
U.S. spot XRP exchange-traded funds have recorded net inflows for 19 consecutive trading days. Cumulative net inflows since their launch have reached nearly $975 million. On December 11, inflows were $20.17 million, following $10.2 million the previous day. Providers include 21Shares (Ticker: $TOXR), Canary Capital, and Grayscale. The muted price reaction to these persistent inflows suggests the new supply is being absorbed efficiently without triggering significant volatility.

4. Additional Ecosystem Progress
Ripple’s stablecoin, RLUSD, continues to grow, achieving a market capitalization of approximately $1.3 billion. In Europe, AMINA Bank became the first European bank to announce the use of Ripple Payments for cross-border real-time settlements. Furthermore, the XRP Ledger released version 3.0.0 of its reference software, rippled, which addresses bugs related to multi-purpose token accounting in escrow and enhances consensus stall detection.

The Outlook: Awaiting a Catalytic Breakout

XRP continues to trade within a range of $1.90 to $2.10. The confluence of undervalued on-chain metrics, neutral derivative positioning, and robust fundamental developments presents a compelling backdrop. However, the market still awaits a definitive catalyst to break the ongoing consolidation. As of December 13, 2025, the question remains whether this prolonged accumulation phase will soon transition into a new trend.