XRP Nears $3 on ETF Hype as CME Exchange Sees 74% Surge in Futures Contracts

CME exchange News - XRP's rally toward $3 is fueled by growing institutional interest in a potential ETF approval, with Bloomberg analysts assigning a 95% likelihood of SEC clearance by October. Futures open interest surged 5% month-over-year to 2.69 billion XRP ($7.91 billion), while CME contracts spiked 74%, signaling serious market maker engagement. Yet the XRP Ledger's fundamentals lag behind its speculative momentum. With just $100 million in total value locked (TVL) and less than 2% market share in real-world asset (RWA) tokenization, Ripple's RLUSD stablecoin sees 90% of its $700 million supply anchored to ethereum rather than XRPL. This disconnect leaves XRP's valuation heavily dependent on ETF approval. Meanwhile, capital rotates toward altcoins demonstrating real utility. SOL, ADA, and ETH lead the charge, while emerging tokens like SNORT and BEST gain traction through steeper adoption curves. The market's bifurcation grows clearer: speculative ETF plays versus protocols building actual on-chain activity.