XRP Slides as US CLARITY Bill Vote Looms, Regulatory Outlook in Focus

Ripple’s XRP is trading under pressure in early April, but market attention is increasingly shifting from short-term charts to Washington, where a proposed ‘CLARITY’ bill is expected to face a key vote later this month—an outcome analysts say could reshape how XRP is regulated and how much institutional capital can access it.

As of Wednesday in U.S. Eastern Time, XRP was changing hands in the $1.31–$1.36 range, down about 3.6% over the past 24 hours. The token is trading below several commonly watched trend gauges, including its 7-day moving average around $1.33, the 14-day near $1.37, and the 30-day close to $1.39. Momentum indicators also reflect a cautious market: the Money Flow Index (MFI) was around 35, approaching levels typically associated with ‘oversold’ conditions, while traders have begun to focus on the possibility of a retest of the 52-week low near $1.21.

Despite the price softness, Ripple continues to expand its ecosystem and product footprint. The company recently broadened distribution for its stablecoin RLUSD by securing a listing on South Korea’s Coinone, strengthening its push across key Asian markets. After the listing news, XRP briefly bounced roughly 2% to around $1.36, although the move faded as broader risk appetite remained muted.

Ripple is also leaning into enterprise use cases. The firm unveiled a new native digital asset account under Ripple Treasury, designed for corporate finance teams to manage XRP and RLUSD within a single platform. The product is positioned as a bridge between corporate treasury operations and onchain assets, targeting CFO workflows such as liquidity management and payments.

On the supply side, Ripple unlocked 1 billion XRP from escrow, consistent with the company’s long-running escrow program. Market watchers noted that approximately 80% of the released amount is expected to be re-locked, a pattern that has historically aimed to provide transparency around supply while limiting abrupt increases in circulating availability.

Regulatory framing remains central to the narrative. According to the report, guidance discussions involving the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission and the Commodity Futures Trading Commission have increasingly pointed to treating XRP as a ‘digital commodity’—a classification that, if cemented into law, could reduce compliance uncertainty and broaden the range of institutions permitted to gain exposure.

That backdrop is why the forthcoming Senate Banking Committee vote on the ‘CLARITY’ bill—expected later in April—has become a focal point. Some market analysts argue that passage could open a clearer pathway for a spot XRP ETF and potentially drive $4 billion to $8 billion in net inflows, with price projections in the $2.00 to $3.65 range under bullish scenarios. If the bill stalls or fails, they warn XRP could remain stuck in a $1.00–$1.50 consolidation band or slide toward $1.10–$1.20 if selling pressure accelerates.

Existing XRP-linked ETF products suggest investors are already positioning cautiously. ProShares Ultra XRP was trading around $7.63, but inflows have slowed, signaling a ‘wait-and-see’ posture ahead of the policy catalyst.

Derivatives markets have also weakened, reinforcing the near-term defensive tone. On Binance, open interest in XRP derivatives has reportedly dropped about 72%, indicating reduced leverage activity and diminished speculative participation. Technicians cited by the report flagged $1.32 as a key support level that has been challenged, with expectations for continued downside pressure into the second quarter even as some traders maintain low-risk net-long exposure.

CoinMarketCap data cited in the report put XRP’s market capitalization at roughly $80.8 billion, ranking it fourth among cryptocurrencies. Circulating supply was reported at about 61.41 billion XRP out of a maximum 100 billion, with 24-hour trading volume near $2.06 billion.

For now, XRP sits at a crossroads where policy signals may outweigh token-specific developments. Traders are watching whether support near $1.31 holds or whether the market revisits the $1.21 area, while the broader crypto market is treating the CLARITY vote as a potential inflection point for U.S. regulatory direction—one that could influence not only XRP’s classification but also the pace of ‘institutional demand’ across digital assets.