Rakuten Pay in Japan now allows 44 million users to convert loyalty points worth $23 billion into XRP, enabling purchases with XRP at 5 million merchant locations. The integration includes XRP in Rakuten Wallet, alongside Bitcoin, Ether, and Bitcoin Cash. This move marks a major mainstream adoption milestone for XRP and Ripple’s ecosystem.
Bitcoin remains above $62,000 amid rising inflation and geopolitical tensions. Its stability indicates resilience, but future policy changes could affect crypto liquidity. The cryptocurrency's performance reflects ongoing investor confidence despite global uncertainties.
Rep. Sheri Biggs of South Carolina disclosed buying $100,001-$250,000 worth of BlackRocks Bitcoin Trust ETF (IBIT) on March 4. Her household has made multiple crypto ETF investments, with the latest filing on April 16. This highlights growing institutional interest in Bitcoin ETFs among U.S. lawmakers.
Coinbase Derivatives submitted a market maker program to the CFTC, running from May 1 to November 30, featuring XRP among supported assets. The program aims to improve liquidity for crypto derivatives, signaling institutional engagement and growing market infrastructure for XRP.
Crypto ETFs saw continued gains, with Bitcoin adding $26.05M and Ether $18.02M in inflows. Major assets like XRP and Solana also posted strong gains, signaling steady recovery in crypto investment markets.
XRP surged to $1.47, up 8.66% last week, driven by ETF inflows and institutional demand. The rally outperformed Bitcoin and Ethereum, with XRP's market cap near $91 billion. Technical signals and bullish sentiment at key resistance levels contributed to the rally.
Speculation about a Solana and XRP collaboration has sparked market buzz. A cryptic Solana post referencing XRP has fueled hopes of interoperability or a merger, but no official confirmation exists yet.
