"After Sideways Movement, a Reaction"...Ripple IPO Expectations, Will It Revive XRP?

▲ XRP/AI-generated image

As Ripple's pre-IPO valuation rapidly soared, a reaction was again observed in XRP's price movements. XRP, which had been trending sideways for several months despite legal favorable news and whale accumulation, began to move in line with Ripple's valuation reassessment and IPO expectations.

According to U.Today, a cryptocurrency specialized media outlet, on May 29 (local time), XRP was the only major cryptocurrency last week to trigger Santiment's social price correlation indicator. U.Today stated that this change is a significant turning point, given that XRP had not shown a clear direction throughout 2026 despite legal victories and whale accumulation.

The key driving force lies in the surge of Ripple's valuation in the unlisted secondary market. As institutional investors priced in Ripple's potential listing in 2026, the price of unlisted Ripple shares surged by 376% to an all-time high of $136.90. U.Today pointed out that this reassessment acted as a direct factor in changing XRP market sentiment.

Ripple's valuation reassessment followed a $750 million share buyback conducted in the spring. At the time, the share buyback fixed Ripple's value at $50 billion, which was 25% higher than the November round involving Citadel and Pantera Capital. While management explained that the share buyback was for securing liquidity in the unlisted market, U.Today reported that the secondary market price, which rose to $136.90, indicates that major capital is moving with an eye on a potential IPO.

Favorable news on the institutional and infrastructure fronts also supported XRP. On May 14, the Senate Banking Committee passed the U.S. cryptocurrency market structure bill by a vote of 15 to 9, creating a trend for XRP to secure its status as a digital commodity under the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC). Standard Chartered projected XRP spot ETF inflows to range from $4 billion to $8 billion, and $12.57 million flowed into XRP spot ETFs during the week ending May 22. The cumulative inflow since its launch in November 2025 has been tallied at $1.26 billion.

The XRPL Lending Protocol was activated on May 27, increasing ecosystem utility, and on May 21, 4,300 new XRP wallets were created in a single day. However, U.Today evaluated XRP's price movement as still limited. XRP moved between $1.39 and $1.47 and has fallen by 26% since early 2026. The current 0.26 correlation indicates conscious and consistent market movements rather than individual investor overheating, and Ripple's $136.90 share value and IPO expectations are presented as a signal that has re-aligned XRP price movements and investor expectations after several months.

*Disclaimer: This article is for investment reference only, and we are not responsible for any investment losses based on it. The content should be interpreted for informational purposes only.*