XRP Price Forecast: Ripple and SBI Group partner to launch RLUSD in Japan

Ripple (XRP) remains under pressure, trading at $1.06 on Thursday after losing nearly 5% so far this week. Ripple and SBI Group partnered to launch RLUSD stablecoin in Japan following approval from the Japan Financial Services Agency (JFSA) on Thursday, but the move failed to lift sentiment. Traders remain cautious, with bearish derivatives metrics continuing to outweigh the positive fundamental development, while modest  Exchange Traded Funds (ETFs) inflows provide only limited support for XRP’s price.

Ripple expands RLUSD to Japan

Ripple’s official X account posted on Thursday that its RLUSD stablecoin is now available in Japan, following approval from Japan’s Financial Services Agency.

“Through our partnership with SBI Group, RLUSD will be accessible to both institutional and retail users via the VCTRADE platform, serving as a bridge for payments, tokenization, and collateral management,” said Ripple on its X post.

Jack McDonald, Senior Vice President of Stablecoins at Ripple, said, “This launch marks an important step in expanding access to transparent, regulated USD-backed stablecoins like RLUSD for financial institutions, consumers and businesses in Japan.”

The development indicates a bullish long-term outlook, as it highlights Ripple’s growing footprint in Japan and could boost adoption of its payments ecosystem.

However, the announcement has done little to improve near-term sentiment, with XRP remaining under pressure, trading at $1.06 and down nearly 5% so far this week.

Derivatives data caps XRP recovery prospects

Derivatives metrics support a negative outlook for XRP. CoinGlass’ long-to-short ratio for XRP read 0.95 on Thursday, nearing its lowest level in over a month. The ratio being below one indicates bearish sentiment, as traders are betting that the assets’ prices will fall.

In addition, the funding rate turned negative on Wednesday, reading -0.0020% on Thursday, indicating that shorts are paying longs and suggesting bearish sentiment, capping XRP’s potential recovery.

Meanwhile, SoSoValue data shows some signs of optimism. Spot ETFs recorded an inflow of $2.05 million on Wednesday after an inflow of $5.31 million on Monday. If this inflow trend continues and intensifies, XRP could see a recovery ahead.

XRP technical outlook: Weakening momentum indicators

XRP trades at $1.06 on Thursday, down nearly 5% so far this week. XRP is maintaining a bearish bias as price remains well below the 50-day, 100-day, and 200-day Exponential Moving Averages (EMAs), clustered between roughly $1.23 and $1.54. 

XRP also trades below the upper boundary of the prevailing downward-trending parallel channel at around $1.19, reinforcing the idea of a capped market despite modest stabilization in downside momentum. The Relative Strength Index (RSI) at about 33 stays just above oversold territory. At the same time, the Moving Average Convergence Divergence (MACD) line has slipped slightly further into negative territory, hinting that sellers still retain control even if pressure is less intense than during prior legs lower.

On the downside, the next important support is near $1.00, where buyers may attempt to build a more solid floor. 

On the topside, initial resistance is seen at the channel boundary around $1.19, followed by the $1.30 horizontal barrier. Above that, the 100-day EMA at $1.33 and the 200-day EMA near $1.54 form a broader supply zone, while a more distant resistance level is at $1.90. As long as XRP remains below this stack of overhead levels, rallies are likely to be treated as corrective within the broader downtrend.

(The technical analysis of this story was written with the help of an AI tool.)