In a recent video, Digital Asset Investor (@digitalassetbuy) drew attention to a feature on Ripple published by The Wall Street Journal.
According to the publication, Ripple “has expanded into nearly every corner of the crypto industry from stablecoins to asset custody” and is now “edging into Wall Street terrain,” a notable observation from a premier financial news source.
The Journal noted that Ripple has “emerged as a serious player in providing swap financing to leveraged ETFs.” This rapid expansion of leveraged and highly concentrated exchange-traded funds is drawing new counterparties like Ripple into the space.
Connecting these developments to his longstanding thesis, Digital Asset Investor remarked that “the reason we’ve been following Ripple and XRP all this time is that they’ve been laying bigger plans than everybody else.”
XRP In The Wall Street Journal & Breakout Price Target
— Digital Asset Investor (@digitalassetbuy) October 8, 2026
Prime Brokerage and Institutional Expansion
By completing a $1.25 billion acquisition of Hidden Road, Ripple positioned itself to compete directly with traditional Wall Street banking institutions. The company now collects prime brokerage fees associated with leveraged equity trades, marking a substantial change in its standing within institutional markets.
Additionally, Paxos incorporated XRP support, providing partners with entry through “the same regulated platform trusted by some of the biggest names in finance.” Currently, XRP is held across 8.1 million wallets, boasting a market capitalization approaching $95 billion.
More Major Developments
Institutional capabilities grew further as Ripple Custody integrated Canton Network support, enabling institutions to store and transfer Canton assets alongside other digital holdings. In South Korea, Merit Securities entered a partnership with Ripple to investigate tokenization opportunities within local capital markets. Digital Asset Investor pointed out that XRP functions as a core liquidity pair on the XRP Ledger.
The $1.49 Breakout Level
Highlighting chart analysis from a Bitcoin advocate with no specific affinity for XRP, Digital Asset Investor shared the projection that XRP is poised to break out once it clears resistance at $1.49.
At the time of the video, XRP changed hands at $1.39, placing the target resistance just overhead. Expressing bullish momentum, Digital Asset Investor asserted, “I think this thing could go off on a minute’s notice.”
Real World Asset Tokenization as a Price Driver
A director at Charles Schwab pointed out that tokenization generates demand for the “underlying tokens that support these ecosystems” separate from the price movements of Bitcoin. Applying this principle to XRP, Digital Asset Investor suggested that increased real-world asset tokenization on the XRP Ledger translates to greater liquidity flowing into or across XRP.
Year-to-date figures show the XRP Ledger leading all blockchain networks in net flows for real-world assets. Characterizing this trend, Bitwise’s Matt Hougan labeled it “the dawn of the institutional era,” while Digital Asset Investor maintains that XRP sits at the core of these ongoing developments.