Ripple XRP Price: 44 Million Rakuten Users Can Now Buy XRP — But the Chart Tells a Different Story

TLDR

• XRP is trading at $1.37, down over 4% this week after four consecutive red candles
• US-listed XRP spot ETFs recorded $5.83 million in outflows on Thursday
• Rakuten Wallet officially launched XRP spot trading and payments on April 30, 2026
• The integration exposes XRP to 44 million active Rakuten Pay users and $23 billion in loyalty points
• Derivatives data shows mild bullish sentiment, with the long-to-short ratio at 1.03

Ripple’s XRP is trading at $1.37 on Friday, May 1, after posting four straight days of losses and shedding more than 4% this week.

The price is sitting below all key exponential moving averages. The 50-day EMA at $1.40 is the nearest resistance, followed by the 100-day EMA at $1.51.

The RSI on the daily chart sits at 45, below the neutral 50 line. The MACD has also dipped further into negative territory, both pointing to continued short-term pressure.

On the downside, support sits around $1.30, where buyers have previously stepped in. Below that, the lower boundary of XRP’s descending channel sits near $0.75.

Institutional sentiment showed caution this week. SoSoValue data shows XRP spot ETFs recorded $5.83 million in outflows on Thursday, ending a two-day inflow streak.

Rakuten Opens XRP to 44 Million Users

On April 30, 2026, Rakuten Wallet officially rolled out XRP spot trading and payment functionality in Japan. Users can now convert Rakuten loyalty points into XRP and use the token at over 5 million merchant locations worldwide.

The Rakuten ecosystem holds over 3 trillion circulating loyalty points, equivalent to roughly $23 billion, all now redeemable for XRP. The rollout gives XRP exposure to 44 million active Rakuten Pay users.

Rakuten Wallet is also running a promotional campaign for early adopters. Users spending 30,000 yen or more on XRP receive 500 yen in XRP rewards, while those spending 100,000 yen or more qualify for 1,500 yen in rewards.

The integration is currently live on Android as an early release. An iOS update is expected to follow.

Social Sentiment Climbs

According to Santiment Intelligence, XRP’s bullish social media sentiment has risen to its second-highest level in the past nine months, partly driven by the Rakuten rollout.

Despite the positive sentiment, XRP’s price has not responded with a major move. The token is down roughly 55% over the past nine months, per TradingView data.

Derivatives data does offer some optimism. CoinGlass shows XRP’s long-to-short ratio at 1.03, near its highest level in over a month. The OI-weighted funding rate also flipped positive on Friday at 0.0015%, suggesting a mild lean toward bullish positioning.

The Rakuten integration is currently live on Android, with an iOS version still pending release.

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