Ripple has received final approval from the U.S. Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) to establish a federally regulated trust bank, a move that broadens its institutional financial services. This strategic development sets the stage for Ripple to enhance operations related to its RLUSD stablecoin and offers a foundation for digital asset custody services. Concurrently, despite ongoing price pressure on XRP, notable accumulations by large investors are raising eyebrows.
Integrating Traditional Finance with Digital Innovation
Ripple CEO Brad Garlinghouse announced via social media on October 26 that the company’s new banking entity, Ripple National Trust Bank, has received the go-ahead from U.S. regulators. The bank aims to bolster the operations of RLUSD, a stablecoin pegged to the U.S. dollar, and provide digital asset custody services for institutional clients. Garlinghouse emphasized the significance of this approval as an illustrative case of collaboration between traditional financial institutions and the crypto sector, stating that transformative change is happening within the existing financial system.
Alongside the banking milestone, Ripple introduced new features for its enterprise treasury management platform, Ripple Treasury. Announced at the Swell 2026 event in New York, these updates aim to expand the platform’s capabilities, currently utilized by global firms such as American Airlines, Subway, Christian Louboutin, and Adecco.
AI-Driven Enhancements in Treasury Management
Central to these enhancements are artificial intelligence-driven workflow automation and real-time cash management. Integrated with Ripple’s AI solution, GSmart, the system automates processes like cash flow monitoring, forecasting, reconciliation, liquidity management, and payments.
Ripple’s latest features bring AI-powered automation and seamless returns to treasury management, streamlining critical financial processes for enterprises.
A notable addition is the “24/7 Returns” feature, designed to enable suitable corporate clients to earn returns from idle funds beyond traditional banking hours. This service, available for RLUSD and other designated digital assets, functions around the clock, including nights, weekends, and holidays. Companies can earn yields under specified conditions without directly managing digital asset trades.
XRP Whales Accumulating: Key Price Levels to Watch
During this period of service expansion, accumulation by major XRP stakeholders has reached its highest level since November 2022. According to data from Santiment, wallets holding at least 10 million XRP now account for approximately 46.87 billion XRP, representing about 68.5% of the total supply.
Despite XRP facing price resistance near $1.29, large holders continue to build their positions, potentially creating favorable conditions for a future recovery.
In the short term, the $1.30 mark is a crucial threshold for XRP’s price direction. Below this, maintaining support at $1.20 and high levels of whale holdings underpin a recovery scenario based on accumulation. Breaking past $1.50, however, is crucial for confirming more robust upward momentum. Should this occur alongside sustained accumulation by major holders, expectations for medium to long-term recovery could strengthen.
With the expansion of banking and treasury services, Ripple is broadening its regulatory-compliant institutional finance offerings. For XRP, current data reveal a distinction, as significant accumulation by large holders has yet to be matched by a clear price rebound. Thus, retaining $1.20 support and reclaiming $1.50 remain critical to assessing whether the accumulation aligns with positive price movement.
