XRP with a new legal status.
On January 1, 2026, the Digital Asset Market Clarity Act came into effect, definitively ending years of regulatory uncertainty surrounding XRP. Under the new regulations, XRP was officially classified as a network token, not a security.
This means that XRP is on par with Bitcoin and Ethereum in terms of legal status in the USA.
Analyst Nick Regan points out that the key provision of the law states clearly: assets supported by an ETF or ETP before January 1, 2026 automatically receive a new regulatory status. XRP met this condition due to the launched spot ETFs.
From this moment: • XRP is subject to CFTC jurisdiction, not SEC
• The risk of further lawsuits and regulatory disputes virtually disappears
• The rules of the game for institutions are becoming predictable
The market reaction was immediate
Already on January 1, 2026: • The trading volume of XRP increased by about 400%
• In the first hours of the session in the USA, $12 billion in liquidity flowed in
• The number of institutional wallets (>1 million XRP) increased by 22% in a week
In the US market, 7 spot ETFs on XRP started trading. The total assets of the ETFs exceeded $2 billion, blocking over 770 million XRP. Weekly inflows to the ETFs remain around $150 million.
Side effect:
🔹 The supply of XRP on exchanges has dropped to an 8-year low (~1.6 billion tokens)
🔹 A structural supply shock is emerging
XRP in the 'big three' of the crypto market
The new legal status has led to a change in market hierarchy. In the first weeks of January: • XRP +25%
• BTC +6%
• ETH +10%
Capital rotated from mid-cap altcoins towards XRP, with inflows exceeding $4 billion. Institutions like State Street and BNY Mellon began to treat XRP under the same rules as BTC and ETH, also in the custody area.
Long-term significance
XRP is increasingly positioning itself as a bridge asset for global settlements. Ripple is developing On-Demand Liquidity, and the company's goal is to service even 14% of the SWIFT market by 2030.
TVL in institutional custody on the XRP Ledger exceeded $15 billion in January 2026. The Clarity Act ended the era of 'regulation by enforcement' and moved a significant portion of the market from the SEC to the CFTC.
Conclusion
XRP has ceased to be viewed as a risky regulatory altcoin.
It has become a fully-fledged financial instrument under clearly defined rules.
This event may have greater significance for the coming years than for one short price movement.
How do you assess this change?
Does regulatory certainty really change the game for XRP?
