XRP Sentiment 2-Year High as Rakuten Wallet Boosts Price

XRP sentiment 2-year high readings are now flashing across on-chain dashboards, driven by a major partnership with Rakuten Wallet that could connect the token to 44 million users in Japan. But the price has barely moved. XRP climbed only about 2% in the 24 hours after the news dropped, leaving traders wondering why bullish sentiment alone is not enough to push the coin above a stubborn resistance wall at $1.40.

Rakuten Wallet Brings XRP to 44 Million Users in Japan

The catalyst behind the sentiment surge is concrete. XRP Rakuten Wallet integration 44 million users means Rakuten’s customer base can now convert their loyalty points, worth more than $23 billion in aggregate, directly into XRP, trade it inside the app, and spend it at over 5 million merchant locations through Rakuten Pay.

Ripple called this ‘one of the largest retail deployments of XRP as a payment method to date,’ said in an X post on Thursday. That framing is not hype for its own sake. Japan has one of the world’s most active loyalty-point economies, and Rakuten’s reach across retail, travel, and financial services makes this a rare case of crypto utility landing inside a system people already use every day.

Analyst John Squire put it plainly in reaction to the news, saying: ‘Buy XRP with points. Spend it across millions of merchants in Japan.’ For long-time XRP holders who have watched the token struggle to find real-world traction, that sentence carries weight.

Buy $XRP with points. Spend it across millions of merchants in Japan.

XRP Sentiment 2-Year High: What Does the 3.9 Score Mean?

XRP sentiment 2-year high was confirmed Thursday when Santiment’s Positive/Negative indicator hit 3.9, the second-highest bullish reading in two years. According to XRP Santiment sentiment score 3.9 two-year high, that score is 240% above the 1.135 value recorded on March 29, right after XRP fell 20% over two weeks.

Santiment explained in a Thursday X post that traders are excited because XRP is ‘seeing further adoption.’ That framing matters. Social sentiment in crypto has a habit of spiking around announcements and fading just as fast. What keeps this reading interesting is that it is pinned to a real-world integration with a verifiable user base, not speculative chatter about potential future partnerships.

Still, sentiment is not price. The coin is up only 2% on the day, and it sits 62% below its $3.66 multi-year high from July 2025. Enthusiasm among social media traders has rarely been sufficient on its own to move markets at scale, liquidity flows and technical structure matter more once the initial wave of buzz settles.

• XRP Positive/Negative sentiment score: 3.9 (Thursday, May 2026)
• Previous low: 1.135 on March 29, after a 20% two-week price drop
• Gain in sentiment: 240% from March low to current reading
• Last time sentiment was this high: early 2024

Why Is XRP Price Still Stuck at $1.40?

XRP’s 18% rally from its April 5 local low of $1.27 is the best run the token has had in weeks. But it ran straight into a wall. Price peaked at $1.48 and pulled back, because that level sits right at the upper boundary of a symmetrical triangle pattern that has been capping XRP since early February 2026.

The $1.40 to $1.45 resistance zone is not just a chart line. According to XRP symmetrical triangle $1.40 resistance breakout, three separate technical indicators converge right there: the 50-day exponential moving average, the 100-day simple moving average, and the upper trend line of the triangle itself. That kind of triple-layer confluence is exactly where price tends to stall even when sentiment is running hot.

Cost-basis distribution data from Glassnode adds another layer to this. Approximately 2 billion XRP sit with holders who bought at an average price of $1.40 to $1.45. Those are break-even holders. When price ticks up into that zone, many of them sell to recoup losses, which caps the rally before it can build momentum. This is not unusual in crypto, large concentrations of break-even sellers often act as temporary ceilings, but it is a real mechanical obstacle, not just a sentiment story.

Santiment recorded the 2nd highest bullish sentiment across social media for XRP in the past 2 years.

What Happens If XRP Breaks Above $1.45?

The measured target for the symmetrical triangle pattern is $2.10, roughly 50% above where XRP is trading today. That target only becomes valid if bulls push convincingly above the $1.40 to $1.45 zone and hold. A close above that level would confirm a breakout from the triangle and flip the break-even sellers into trapped shorts rather than supply overhead.

Analyst ChartNerd said in a Friday X post that ‘a big move is brewing’ for XRP once resistance above $1.40 is cleared. That kind of setup, strong sentiment, real-world catalyst, clear technical trigger, is the combination traders look for before sizing into a position. The risk is that price grinds sideways for weeks without resolving the triangle, eroding the sentiment advantage as the news cycle moves on.

For XRP bulls, the Rakuten integration is a genuine reason for optimism. Japan is a large market with real retail infrastructure, and 44 million users converting loyalty points into XRP represents the kind of organic demand that derivatives trading cannot fake. The question is whether that demand arrives quickly enough to absorb the sell pressure sitting at $1.45 before the current bullish window closes.

If buyers do step in, $2.10 is the first meaningful target. Clearing that would bring XRP back to levels not seen since late 2025 and put the $3.66 record high back in conversation. If the zone holds as resistance, a retest of $1.27 support is the more likely near-term outcome.

A big move is brewing for XRP price once resistance above $1.40 is cleared.

This article is for informational purposes only and does not constitute investment advice. Every investment and trading decision involves risk. Readers should conduct their own research before making any financial decisions.