Ripple XRP Price: Canary Capital CEO Forecasts Year-End Double as ETF Inflows Hit $1.39 Billion

TLDR

• Canary Capital CEO Steven McClurg predicts XRP could double in price to above $2.80 by end of 2026, with 30% more ETF inflows.
• XRP ETFs pulled in $60 million in net inflows last week, the strongest weekly performance of 2026, bringing cumulative inflows to $1.39 billion.
• The XRP Ledger (XRPL) v3.1.3 mainnet upgrade is scheduled for May 27, with 50% of nodes already updated.
• Whales accumulated over 71 million XRP in the past week, and 4,300 new wallets were created in 24 hours.
• CME Group’s XRP futures suite hit $62.87 billion in notional volume in its first year, averaging $238 million daily.

XRP is currently trading around $1.36–$1.40 and faces a key resistance level at $1.40. Despite steady institutional interest, price has stayed range-bound in recent days.

CME Group’s XRP futures suite crossed $62.87 billion in notional trading volume in its first year. Average daily volume came in at $238 million, with roughly 1.32 million contracts traded and aggregate exposure totaling around 28.6 billion XRP.

McClurg also predicted a 30% increase in ETF interest by year-end. He was clear that the path there would not be straight, saying the summer would be “a tough summer for equities and crypto across the board.”

He laid out a three-phase view. First, a difficult summer. Second, a slowdown during midterm election season as capital moves away from markets. Third, a post-midterm surge driven by ETF inflows, the CLARITY Act, and real-world asset tokenization.

XRP ETFs recorded $60 million in net inflows last week, the strongest weekly print of 2026. Cumulative inflows now stand at $1.39 billion.

On-Chain Activity Picks Up

Crypto analytics firm Santiment flagged a spike in XRP network growth this week. According to Santiment, 4,300 new wallets were created in a 24-hour period — the fourth-largest spike of 2026. Santiment noted that network growth is one of the leading signals for identifying price reversals.

Whale data also showed accumulation. On-chain tracking shows whales added more than 71 million XRP over the past week, though the pace of accumulation has slowed compared to earlier in the month.

XRPL Upgrade Set for May 27

The XRP Ledger is scheduled for a mainnet upgrade on May 27 at 03:49 AM UTC. The v3.1.3 release includes the fixCleanup3_1_3 amendment, which addresses bugs in NFTs, Permissioned Domains, Vaults, and the Lending Protocol.

As of now, 50% of nodes have updated to the latest version. Validators have reached 100% consensus on the amendment. Nodes that do not update risk becoming “amendment-blocked,” meaning they would be unable to process transactions or participate in consensus.

Ripple CTO Emeritus David Schwartz has addressed community concerns about the upgrade. The update fits into a broader XRPL roadmap covering tokenized real-world assets, permissioned DEX features, and post-quantum security work.

Options traders remain bullish on a move back toward $1.40 by month-end. Futures open interest has been rising in the days ahead of the upgrade, while lower spot trading volume continues to be a cautionary signal for short-term momentum.

Analyst CRYPTOWZRD noted that a confirmed break above $1.40 would open a path toward $1.55, and that a move past $1.55 could target $2.00.

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