XRP price holds at $1.45 as Rakuten Wallet integration opens for 44M users and wXRP launches on Solana, boosting DeFi utility and institutional ETF inflows.
The price of XRP is holding firm at $1.45, a level that has proven to be a significant technical barrier this year. A weekly gain of over 8% suggests growing investor confidence, driven by two simultaneous strategic advances: a major retail integration in Japan and a pivotal expansion into decentralized finance.
In a landmark move for Asian adoption, Rakuten Wallet has integrated XRP into its payment application. This opens access for 44 million users, who can now utilize the token at over five million merchant locations across Japan. The system allows customers to convert Rakuten loyalty points directly into XRP, which is then spent as digital credit. Merchants receive yen automatically, insulating them from direct cryptocurrency exposure. Rakuten plans to deepen this integration by directly connecting its banking arm in the third quarter of 2026, creating a seamless fiat on-ramp for millions of bank customers.
Concurrently, XRP is breaking new ground in decentralized finance. An official integration of Wrapped XRP (wXRP) into the Solana ecosystem commenced on April 17, 2026. This allows XRP holders to engage with DeFi protocols without selling their native tokens. The bridge is powered by custody from Hex Trust, ensuring each wXRP is backed 1:1 by native XRP, and cross-chain messaging infrastructure from LayerZero, a protocol that processed over 85 million cross-chain messages in 2025. With starting liquidity exceeding $100 million, wXRP is now usable on platforms like Jupiter Exchange, Meteora, and Titan Exchange, and is natively supported by the Phantom wallet.
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This DeFi push represents a strategic shift for an asset historically focused on institutional payments via the XRP Ledger, which ranks outside the top 40 in DeFi activity. Solana brings a DeFi ecosystem with a total value locked of approximately $6.6 billion. Future plans call for wXRP to expand to Ethereum, Optimism, and HyperEVM. Meanwhile, the XRP Ledger itself is undergoing a governance vote on two amendments, XLS-65 and XLS-66, which aim to introduce a native lending model and require at least 80% validator approval to activate.
The regulatory landscape in the United States is approaching a critical juncture that could amplify these developments. The CLARITY Act, currently in the Senate Banking Committee, seeks to permanently classify XRP as a digital commodity under federal law. Ripple CEO Brad Garlinghouse expects the act to be passed by the end of May 2026. Failure to clear the committee before May, however, could stall the legislation for the rest of the year amid election campaigning.
This political momentum is already influencing institutional behavior. After a weak quarter, nearly $120 million flowed into XRP spot ETFs last week, marking the strongest weekly inflow since December. Multiple providers, including Canary Capital, Grayscale, Bitwise, 21Shares, WisdomTree, and Franklin Templeton, have filed applications, with SEC decisions expected by the end of Q2 2026. Analyst Geoffrey Kendrick of Standard Chartered has tied a price target directly to the legislation’s outcome: $8.00 if the CLARITY Act passes, and $2.80 if it fails in committee.
The immediate technical challenge is clear. XRP must solidify $1.45 as a support level, having tested it three times this year without a confirmed breakout. The token has recently reclaimed its 50-day moving average at $1.38. Market participants are watching the calendar closely, with a geopolitical ceasefire deadline in Iran set for April 22, after which macroeconomic risks could return to dominate sentiment. A successful breach above the key resistance could see three powerful drivers converge: Asian retail adoption, DeFi utility expansion, and the potential for U.S. ETF approvals.
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