XRP fell 2.6% over the past week to trade at $1.32 as of May 27, extending a two-week slide of 9%. The token has now dropped 8% over the past month and more than 42% over the past year. It's stuck in a tight range between $1.30 and $1.40, with buyers and sellers unable to push it decisively in either direction.
Why the Price Is Stuck
The narrow band suggests traders are waiting for a catalyst. XRP has been trading sideways for weeks, caught between selling pressure from holders who bought near the highs and bargain hunters stepping in below $1.30. The lack of a breakout has kept volume low. Meanwhile, broader crypto markets have shown mixed signals, but XRP's underperformance relative to some peers stands out.
On-chain data doesn't show a clear trigger for the latest decline. Some analysts point to profit-taking after a brief rally in early May, but the steady drip lower looks more like a slow bleed than a panic sell-off.
Proposed AMM v2 Upgrade Targets DeFi Growth
The XRP Ledger Foundation has proposed AMM v2, an upgrade to the network's automated market maker framework. The new version would introduce multiple curve types — Concentrated Liquidity, StableSwap, and Constant Product pools — aiming to make the XRPL more competitive for decentralized finance applications.
If approved, the upgrade would let developers build more efficient trading pools and attract liquidity providers who currently favor Ethereum or Solana. The proposal is still in the discussion phase, but it's the most concrete infrastructure move for the XRPL in months.
Tokenization Push as Price Stalls
Ripple is betting big on tokenized real-world assets. A study commissioned by Ripple, BCG, and Securitize projects the tokenized finance market could reach $18.9 trillion in six years. Currently, tokenized assets sit at around $34 billion — meaning the forecast implies roughly 100x growth.
Ripple's strategy centers on its stablecoin RLUSD and the XRP Ledger as the core rails for issuing and trading tokenized securities, commodities, and other assets. The company sees the XRPL's low fees and fast settlement as a differentiator against older blockchains. But that vision hasn't yet translated into price momentum for XRP itself, which remains a speculative asset tied to the broader crypto cycle as much as to Ripple's corporate roadmap.
Fortune Recognition Highlights Internal Morale
On the employee side, Fortune Magazine named Ripple one of the best places to work in the Bay Area for 2026. A company survey found 95% of employees say it's a great workplace — a contrast to the choppy market performance of its native token. The ranking suggests Ripple's internal culture remains strong even as XRP holders watch their positions bleed.
The company has continued hiring and expanding its tokenization team, signaling that the long-term bet on infrastructure outweighs short-term price swings. Whether the AMM v2 upgrade and the tokenization push can eventually lift XRP out of its range-bound rut remains an open question. The next few months — and any decision on the proposal — could provide the answer.
