Ripple Is Worth $50Bn and Nearing $900M in Revenue But XRP Is Down 30% YTD: Is XRP News From Swell Enough to Close the Gap?

During the Swell 2026 conference, Ripple CEO Brad Garlinghouse addressed attendees in New York on Wednesday, October 28, reassuring holders who worry that Ripple’s business and the token are drifting apart by stating that the company “will never give up on XRP.”

A noticeable gap exists between the two entities. Ripple repurchased $750 million of its own shares in March at a $50 billion valuation—up from $40 billion in November—and currently projects an annual revenue run rate of $900 million. Meanwhile, XRP trades at $1.29, marking a 30% decline year-to-date, half of its price from a year ago, and a 64.6% drop from its record high of $3.65 set in July 2025.

This raises questions about whether Ripple is leaving XRP behind, if new partnerships will benefit the token, and what technical indicators suggest for future price movement.

WOW: Brad Garlinghouse just made it CRYSTAL CLEAR at @Ripple Swell: $XRP remains Ripple’s TOP PRIORITY!

Despite Ripple’s massive expansion into stablecoins, custody, payments and institutional finance, Brad declared:

“We only want to do things that are good for XRP.”

An… pic.twitter.com/CgAhbyqfXf

— ALLINCRYPTO (@RealAllinCrypto) October 29, 2026

Why Are Holders Worried Ripple and XRP Are Drifting Apart?

Concerns stem from the fact that nearly every agreement secured by Ripple runs on its RLUSD stablecoin, with generated revenues flowing to Ripple’s shareholders rather than XRP holders. Recent announcements from Swell week highlighted this trend:

• Robinhood plans to settle institutional trades using RLUSD on the XRP Ledger.
• Coinbase listed RLUSD for U.S. clients on Wednesday.
• Moody’s assigned RLUSD an investment-grade A2 rating.
• The OCC granted final approval to Ripple National Trust Bank to hold RLUSD reserves, without naming a specific role for XRP.
• DTCC: Ripple Prime participates in the Wall Street clearing house’s tokenization group of roughly 50 firms, though initial live trades in July operated on DTCC’s proprietary network and Canton, omitting the XRP Ledger.

Ripple’s official updates reflect a similar focus. Swell documentation values RLUSD at $2.6 billion—representing growth of over 88% this year—and lists more than 1,700 institutional customers, whereas XRP is mentioned only briefly as a transfer asset without accompanying metrics.

Acknowledge these perceptions, Garlinghouse reiterated on stage that Ripple “will never give up on XRP” and described the token and RLUSD as “very complementary.”

Nevertheless, the structural separation remains intact. Holding XRP does not grant equity in Ripple; consequently, the $750 million share buyback in March benefited private investors and employees holding company stock.

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Will XRP Benefit From Ripple’s New Deals?

Any positive impact on XRP will likely be indirect compared to general expectations. Financial institutions settling RLUSD on the XRP Ledger pay minor network fees in XRP, which are subsequently burned.

Ledger statistics illustrate the modest scale of these burns: records from October 29 show that 153,989 XRP has been burned in fees since January 1, equating to roughly $199,000 at current valuations. Over the preceding 30 days, burns totaled 27,573 XRP, or about $35,600.

In contrast, Ripple’s escrow releases 1 billion XRP monthly. The 1 billion tokens unlocked on October 1 remain unspent across two Ripple wallets holding 500 million each, with another 1 billion unlock scheduled for Sunday, November 1. Monthly fee burns account for less than 0.003% of a single month’s unlock.

Price support ultimately relies on broader market demand, where current metrics show mixed signals:

• Funds: U.S. spot XRP ETFs maintain approximately $1.5 billion in assets, though inflows remained flat on Tuesday following a $3.61 million outflow on Monday.
• Custody and collateral: BNY now provides XRP custody for institutional clients, and Ripple Prime accepts it as collateral, though specific asset totals have not been disclosed.
• Treasury buyers: Evernorth, a Nasdaq-listed entity holding roughly 473 million XRP, secured an $80 million equity line on Monday with intentions to allocate a portion toward additional XRP purchases.
• Lending on the ledger: Proposed vault and lending enhancements designed to allow institutional borrowing against tokenized assets secured 20 and 18 validator votes respectively on October 21. Activation requires 25 votes and currently lacks a definitive launch date.

The lending upgrade represents a key development for XRP holders to monitor, as payments and stablecoins utilize XRP primarily for minor fee burns, whereas lending would employ it as collateral, locking tokens out of circulation.

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XRP News and Price Analysis: Can XRP Hold $1.25?

While XRP has maintained its support level thus far, weekly charts place it below critical moving averages. Trading at $1.29, the asset sits beneath its 200-week exponential moving average (EMA) of $1.3715 and its 50-week EMA of $1.4928, having registered three consecutive weekly closes below the 200-week line.

Price action over the past 16 months indicates persistent selling pressure during rallies. Following its July 2025 peak of $3.65, XRP settled into a range between roughly $1.00 and $1.70. An attempted rally in August from $0.986 to $1.70 subsided, while a September push to $1.658 stalled near the 50-week EMA.

• Resistance: Positioned at $1.3715 (200-week EMA), followed by $1.4928 (50-week EMA), and the August peak of $1.6999.
• Support: Found at $1.2468 (September 16 low, which held at $1.2546 last week), with further downside support at $0.9862 (August 14 low, marking the 2026 bottom to date).

Corporate executive statements carry no direct financial cost, a fact recognized by market participants. For news from Swell to translate into upward price momentum, observers are watching whether the 1 billion XRP scheduled for release on Sunday remains untouched and whether validator support for the lending upgrade reaches the required 25 votes.

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