Ripple's Strategic Moves: Strengthening XRP's Long-Term Prospects

Ripple is making significant strides in the cryptocurrency space by integrating its native stablecoin, RLUSD, into various financial systems. This move is intended to enhance XRP’s adoption, though some XRP holders are questioning the impact this strategy may have.

Key Takeaways

Stablecoins play a crucial role in bridging Decentralized Finance (DeFi) with Traditional Finance (TradFi).
Ripple has partnered with LMAX to incorporate its stablecoin, RLUSD, which aims to increase adoption.
XRP's recent performance has been less impressive compared to Solana (SOL), though it has limited losses better than SOL in the past year.
Whale activity indicates that major XRP holders are not selling off their assets, suggesting long-term confidence in Ripple's strategy.
Ripple's ongoing strategic initiatives and robust on-chain activity contribute to a positive outlook for XRP heading into 2026.

From RLUSD to whales - Here's how Ripple is building XRP’s long-term case

Building Trust Through Innovation

Stablecoins have become essential for connecting DeFi and TradFi. Having a stablecoin that is specific to a layer-1 blockchain can significantly aid in establishing partnerships with banks and other financial entities, even if it means slower financial gains.

Ripple exemplifies this approach with its recent alliance with LMAX, which integrates its native stablecoin RLUSD into LMAX’s framework. This collaboration is another effort to foster more extensive adoption of XRP and its associated technologies.

SOL/XRP
Source: TradingView (SOL/XRP)

However, this strategy has sparked debate among XRP stakeholders. Despite various strategic maneuvers aimed at facilitating institutional adoption and increased XRP ETF transactions, the price action has not shown corresponding enthusiasm.

As of early 2026, Ripple's XRP continues to lag behind Solana (SOL). Nonetheless, analyzing the broader context reveals that XRP limited its losses to just 12% during the 2025 cycle, whereas SOL saw a more significant decline of 35%. This observation raises the question: Are Ripple’s recent initiatives laying a solid foundation for a long-term vision?

Do XRP Holders Recognize the Long-Term Strategy?

Reflecting on 2025 reveals that XRP notably outperformed several other assets. During this period, Ripple executed strategic decisions, including GTreasury's $1 billion acquisition and a partnership with BDACS to enhance custody services in South Korea for institutional clients.

These strategic moves suggest that XRP’s superior performance is not merely coincidental. Today, we may witness a repeat of this promising pattern. Indeed, data from CryptoQuant indicates that whale inflows to Binance have hit their lowest level since 2021.

Ripple
Source: CryptoQuant

This data suggests that XRP whales are not currently parting with their holdings. This aligns with AMBCrypto’s insights affirming that while XRP may be underperforming compared to other major assets in the short term, the larger trend indicates a different situation. The primary factor supporting this perspective is the confidence in Ripple’s long-term trajectory.

In summary, the strategic initiatives by Ripple, combined with consistent on-chain activity, reflect accumulation behavior rather than distribution. Consequently, the outlook for XRP’s performance in 2026 appears to be steadily strengthening.

Concluding Thoughts