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As TradFi-to-DeFi integration deepens, Ripple’s recent moves suggest the impact may extend beyond the U.S. The company has been aligning its ecosystem with broader adoption of crypto rails, while regulatory developments in the U.S. could shape market expectations in the coming months.
Ripple said that Rakuten Wallet users in Japan can now convert their Rakuten points into XRP. The update targets a user base of around 44 million.
In Korea, Hana Financial TI—described as one of the country’s largest financial institutions—has completed a Korean won stablecoin proof of concept on the XRP Ledger. The project is focused on testing real-world issuance and settlement on the ledger, drawing on DeFi momentum.
These developments are framed as part of a wider shift rather than an isolated effort. DeFiLlama data cited in the article shows Ripple’s native stablecoin RLUSD is up more than 10% over the month, reaching a new all-time supply high of $1.6 billion.
The article also notes that March attestations show multiple real-world use cases of RLUSD across different TradFi participants, indicating continued expansion of activity within the XRPL ecosystem.
Timing is also tied to U.S. policy. The article says the CLARITY Act is gaining momentum, with several government representatives expecting potential passage in May or, at the latest, by August.
It raises the question of whether Ripple’s global push for XRP could benefit from a “post-clarity” environment, including support for XRP’s position among the largest crypto assets.
From a technical perspective, the article highlights that XRP has been trading sideways below the $1.5 resistance zone for more than 12 weeks.
It also points to steady institutional demand, stating that XRP ETFs closed April with $81 million in net inflows—described as the strongest monthly ETF flow of 2026 so far.
CryptoQuant data cited in the article adds a leverage-focused view: XRP’s Estimated Leverage Ratio (ELR) is described as low and flat, suggesting leverage is not driving current price action. The article interprets this as a more organic market structure, with speculative excess already “flushed out.”
The article concludes that Ripple’s global expansion, RLUSD growth, and low XRP leverage combine to form a bullish setup ahead of regulatory clarity. It also states that, as the CLARITY Act progresses through the U.S. Senate, Ripple’s broader footprint could add further upside potential.
At the same time, the article notes that attention among major crypto assets may shift toward Ethereum [ETH] as the next target.
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