XRP tops $1.40 as Ripple expands its payment infrastructure

The cryptocurrency market’s price action has been choppy over the last few hours, with some tokens being in green while others are losing.

Ripple’s XRP is up by 4.5% in the last 24 hours and could rally higher as Ripple announced the expansion of its payments infrastructure. 

Global markets remain on edge amid uncertainty due to the conflict between the United States (US) and Iran.

The conflict has spread across several countries in the Middle East and could further affect the broader cryptocurrency market. 

Several global leaders have called for de-escalation of the conflict, but President Trump has warned that it could last several weeks. 

Ripple expands its payments infrastructure

XRP is rallying alongside the broader cryptocurrency market as it is currently up by nearly 5% in the last 24 hours.

The rally comes as Ripple announced on Wednesday that it is expanding Ripple Payments into a full-stack infrastructure platform.

The new platform allows businesses to collect, hold, exchange, and pay out in both fiat currencies and stablecoins through a single provider.

According to Ripple, the new feature is available thanks to its recent acquisitions of Palisade and Rail. 

Palisade, which handles custody and treasury automation, powers the managed custody layer that lets businesses provision wallets at scale and sweep funds into operational accounts.

Rail, a virtual accounts and collections platform, enables businesses to accept fiat and stablecoin pay-ins through named virtual accounts with automated conversion and settlement.

Furthermore, institutional interest in XRP remains intact despite the escalating geopolitical tensions. 

US-listed XRP spot Exchange-Traded Funds (ETFs) recorded inflows of approximately $7.53 million on Tuesday.

Bitwise and Canary Capital’s ETFs accounted for all inflows, totaling $6.08 million and $1.45 million, respectively. 

Cumulative inflows stand at $1.25 billion, and net assets under management at $1.02 billion.

Technical outlook: XRP eyes the $1.5 swing high

The XRP/USD 4-hour chart remains bearish despite the current pump.

At press time, XRP is trading below the 50-day ($1.58) and 100-day ($2.03) Exponential Moving Averages (EMAs), limiting upward movement. 

The Moving Average Convergence Divergence (MACD) remains marginally above its signal on the 4-hour chart, suggesting modest momentum.

This outlook suggests that the bulls could push XRP’s price higher in the near term. 

The RSI of 59 is above the neutral 50 and looking upward, suggesting that the bulls are regaining firm control of the market.

If the bullish trend continues and the daily candle closes above the Monday high of $1.42, XRP could extend its rally towards the 50-day EMA around $1.58.

An extended bullish run would bring the 100-day EMA into focus.

However, if the recovery fails and the daily candle fails to close above $1.42, XRP could drop lower and retest Monday’s low of $1.33, with a break exposing the February support at $1.12.