XRP trades near $2.00 despite Ripple Labs securing conditional approval for a national trust bank charter.
The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency granted the approval December 12, marking a significant regulatory milestone for the crypto payments company.
XRP has declined roughly 40% from its 2025 highs while lagging Bitcoin and Ethereum despite multiple positive catalysts.
What Happened
Ripple received conditional approval to establish Ripple National Trust Bank under federal banking supervision.
The charter allows Ripple to provide cryptocurrency custody services and manage reserves backing its RLUSD stablecoin, which holds approximately $1.3 billion in market capitalization.
Bank Policy Institute CEO Greg Baer questioned whether OCC requirements adequately address operational risks, reflecting traditional banking industry opposition to crypto firm charters.
The approval positions RLUSD under dual federal and New York state regulatory oversight through the OCC and New York Department of Financial Services.
Spot XRP exchange-traded funds have attracted nearly $1 billion in assets since launching in November, with cumulative inflows approaching $971 million according to industry data.
The milestone came faster than Solana ETFs despite XRP's recent price weakness.
Ripple's institutional expansion accelerated in November when the company secured $500 million from Fortress Investment Group and Citadel Securities at a $40 billion valuation.
The funding round included Pantera Capital, Galaxy Digital, Brevan Howard and Marshall Wace.
Cross-chain expansion continued December 12 when Hex Trust launched wrapped XRP on Solana, Ethereum, Optimism and HyperEVM with over $100 million in initial liquidity.
The regulated wrapper enables XRP participation in decentralized finance applications across multiple blockchain networks.
RLUSD received Abu Dhabi regulatory approval in November, allowing institutional use within the emirate's financial center.
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Why It Matters
The disconnect between positive Ripple developments and XRP price action reflects broader cryptocurrency market pressure following Federal Reserve rate decisions.
Technical indicators show XRP trading below key moving averages with weak momentum, suggesting bears maintain near-term control despite fundamental improvements.
The $2.00 level has emerged as critical psychological support, with analysts identifying $1.98 as the next downside test if current levels fail.
Resistance clusters between $2.06 and $2.13 have consistently rejected rally attempts.
Ripple's banking charter addresses long-standing institutional concerns about crypto custodial services operating outside traditional financial regulation.
The approval could accelerate RLUSD adoption among banks and payment processors seeking compliant stablecoin settlement options.
However, market participants appear focused on technical price structure rather than fundamental catalysts.
XRP's relative underperformance versus Bitcoin and Ethereum continues despite Ripple processing over $95 billion in payment volumes and expanding regulatory licenses to 75 jurisdictions globally.
The divergence between network growth and token price performance highlights persistent questions about XRP's value capture mechanisms.
Institutional investors through ETF vehicles now hold significant exposure, creating new price dynamics separate from retail trading patterns that historically dominated XRP markets.
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