Bitcoin Conference 2026 attendees weren’t just talking about Bitcoin. Ripple had a visible presence at the event, and XRP was drawing attention from investors who had previously kept their distance from the token. A Shift In Sentiment Jake Claver, chairman of Digital Ascension Group, said he saw a clear change in attitude toward XRP at the conference. Longtime Bitcoin holders, who once had little interest in XRP, were starting to look at the token and move money into its ecosystem. Claver made the remarks during an appearance on the Good Evening Crypto podcast, hosted by Abdullah “Abs” Nassif. His broader argument: XRP doesn’t need Congress to act for its price to move. The legal and regulatory groundwork, he said, is already in place. That view runs counter to what some market watchers have been saying. A popular narrative in crypto circles holds that passage of the CLARITY Act — a proposed piece of legislation aimed at defining rules for digital assets — would be the key trigger for XRP’s next major price move. Claver doesn’t buy it. Agencies Already Moving According to Claver, the SEC and CFTC have been doing the work without waiting for new laws. Both agencies have issued guidelines that classify XRP as a digital commodity, he said, and recent developments tied to the GENIUS Act have pushed US crypto regulation further along than many people realize. What the market needs now, in his view, is execution — not more legislation. The legal cloud that once hung over XRP has already lifted. The SEC’s lawsuit against Ripple, which dragged on for years and created significant uncertainty for investors, has been resolved. Claver said that resolution has brought a new wave of interest to the token, with more capital flowing in as confidence grows. XRP is currently trading at $1.40, up about 1.55% on the day and roughly 7% over the past month. Over the past year, though, the token is down 32%. Institutions Take Notice Ripple’s president has described 2026 as a year of institutional adoption at scale, and Claver echoed that framing. He pointed to public statements from executives at Nasdaq and the New York Stock Exchange, who have spoken openly about tokenization and the role blockchain technology could play in traditional financial markets. Reports indicate that XRP and the XRP Ledger are being positioned as infrastructure for payments and settlement — areas where institutional players are actively looking for solutions. Featured image from Unsplash, chart from TradingView

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