Bullish Rebound Looms for Ripple as Investor Sentiment Shifts Amid M&A Rumors and Unusual Trading Patterns

Table of Contents XRP is currently changing hands near $1.34 following a rebound from its 24-hour floor of $1.33. Trading volume has increased by 5% over the last day while both blockchain indicators and futures market data suggest growing bullish positioning. Blockchain analytics platform Santiment has highlighted that the ratio of bullish to bearish commentary surrounding XRP on social platforms has contracted to 1.1:1 — a level the firm categorizes as extreme fear territory. According to Santiment’s methodology, when retail sentiment becomes this pessimistic, it typically signals that weaker market participants have already exited their positions, creating conditions that historically favor price recoveries. Santiment further observed that XRP’s 30-day MVRV ratio — a metric measuring the average profit or loss for holders who acquired tokens within the past month — has declined to its lowest reading since December 2020. Currently, the typical XRP holder who bought within the last 30 days is sitting on a 47% unrealized loss. Historically, such deeply negative MVRV readings have coincided with periods when retail participants capitulate, and the analytics firm describes this as an “extreme undervalued territory.” 📉 The average XRP trader that has been active in the past 30 days is down a whopping -47% with many selling at the bottom. Historically, MVRV’s (average trading returns) will always average out to 0%, making this current time an extreme undervalued zone for $XRP. The chart shows… pic.twitter.com/a0s4ObRpQu — Santiment Intelligence (@SantimentData) May 26, 2026 Large wallet activity appears to validate this contrarian signal. CryptoQuant analyst Amr Taha documented that 122 million XRP tokens left Binance exchange wallets in a single session on May 22 — representing the most substantial daily withdrawal since early February. The net exchange position shift recorded a decline of -30 million tokens that Sunday, suggesting accumulation by large holders who prefer self-custody. Spot XRP exchange-traded funds have maintained uninterrupted positive net inflows for 16 consecutive trading sessions, with aggregate capital entering these products totaling $116.75 million throughout the period, based on tracking data from SoSoValue. Futures market participants are similarly expressing optimism. Open interest across XRP futures contracts expanded by more than 1% to reach $2.86 billion, with both CME Group and Binance platforms recording increases when measured on 4-hour chart intervals. Technical chart patterns also suggest potential volatility ahead. Bollinger Bands on the daily timeframe have narrowed to their most compressed configuration since mid-2024. Historical analysis shows that comparable squeeze patterns have previously preceded upward price movements ranging from 58% to 82%, according to technical analyst Crypto Patel. Adding another layer to the current narrative is unverified speculation that Ripple Labs may be preparing to acquire Circle Internet Financial, the issuer of the USDC stablecoin, in an $11 billion transaction. The rumors gained traction after the XRP Ledger Foundation published a cryptic message on X stating: “Tomorrow’s going to be a great day.” Neither Ripple nor Circle leadership has issued statements confirming any such negotiations. 🚨 Ripple × Circle $11B Acquisition Rumors Are Heating Up Again. Bullish Implications for $XRP: • Stablecoin Empire: Control USDC + RLUSD = unstoppable payments dominance. • XRP Bridge Power: XRP becomes the ultimate cross-border settlement asset between massive liquidity… pic.twitter.com/CRftjlEbFy — ghost (@ghostweb3) May 25, 2026 This is not the first instance of such acquisition speculation surfacing. In the previous year, Ripple CEO Brad Garlinghouse publicly refuted a Bloomberg report claiming the company had submitted a $4–$5 billion offer for Circle. At that time, Circle representatives also stated the company was not exploring sale options. From a technical perspective, XRP is currently trading beneath its 50-day, 100-day, and 200-day moving averages. The Relative Strength Index stands near 41, indicating neither overbought nor oversold conditions. Technical analyst ChartNerd has identified the present lower support zone as a critical threshold, warning that a break below this level could catalyze a more extensive correction. XRP futures open interest registered a 0.32% increase on CME and climbed 1.13% on Binance when measured across 4-hour intervals at the time of analysis.