Ripple has spent years telling banks that digital assets are the future of payments. Its 2026 Global Digital Asset Survey of over 1,000 finance leaders suggests the industry is finally agreeing—72% now say their firms must offer digital asset solutions to stay competitive.
For XRP investors, the picture is more complicated. The survey’s most bullish finding is about stablecoins—not XRP as a bridge asset. 29% of the respondents flagged price volatility as a top concern, which is exactly why most banks avoid settling in XRP directly. This reflects why Ripple’s ecosystem keeps expanding, but the XRP price remains still stuck near $1.40.
So does any of this actually help XRP, or is this another case of Ripple’s ecosystem growing while the XRP price stays flat?
What Ripple’s Survey Found
Stablecoins were the Ripple survey’s standout finding. 74% of finance leaders said stablecoins improve cash-flow efficiency and unlock trapped working capital, framing them as treasury tools rather than just payment rails. Fintechs are already putting that belief into practice—31% use stablecoins to collect payments on behalf of customers, and 29% accept stablecoin payments directly. Nearly half of fintechs are building their own digital asset solutions in-house, while 74% of corporates plan to rely on external partners instead.
Banks and asset managers aren’t as far along in adoption, but they’re laying the groundwork. Among those evaluating tokenization partners, 89% ranked secure custody as their top priority, and 97% said security certifications like ISO and SOC II are important or very important when choosing a provider. These institutions aren’t experimenting but vetting partners the same way they’d vet a traditional custodian.
The clearest theme across all four groups—banks, asset managers, fintechs, and corporates—is that firms want a single provider who can handle everything. 71% of corporates prefer a one-stop-shop infrastructure partner, and just over half of fintechs and financial institutions feel the same way. When asked about their biggest concerns around digital assets, respondents pointed to regulatory clarity (40%), security (37%), compliance requirements (30%), and price volatility (29%).
What Each Finding Means for the XRP Price
The 72% headline number is bullish for Ripple’s business, but it doesn’t mention XRP. “Digital asset solutions” covers stablecoins, tokenization, and custody—all of which generate revenue for Ripple without necessarily touching the token. Banks can adopt Ripple’s entire infrastructure stack, settle in RLUSD, and never use XRP once.
That’s exactly what the 74% stablecoins finding suggests. RLUSD has grown to a $1.53 billion market cap since launching in December 2024. Banks are adopting it for treasury management and cross-border settlement because it holds its dollar peg through any market conditions. When 74% of finance leaders say stablecoins improve cash-flow efficiency, they’re describing the exact product RLUSD was built to be—not XRP’s role as a volatile bridge asset.
The 89% custody priority and 71% one-stop-shop preference are where XRP’s case gets stronger. Ripple is building that single-provider infrastructure, and XRP sits inside it. Banks that adopt RLUSD for settlement are already operating within Ripple’s ecosystem, and from there, using XRP for bridging in illiquid currency corridors is a shorter step than starting from scratch. The custody focus also supports XRP ETF infrastructure, since institutional-grade storage is exactly what ETF providers need to scale.
The 29% who flagged price volatility are telling you why that pipeline moves slowly. When a bank can settle with a stablecoin that never moves off its $1 peg, choosing a token that’s down 62% from its July peak is a hard sell for compliance teams. Most banks will keep settling in RLUSD until the Clarity Act locks XRP’s commodity classification into permanent federal law, leaving XRP for the corridors where no stablecoin option exists.
What XRP Holders Should Watch Next
The Clarity Act’s biggest obstacle cleared on March 20 when Senators Tillis and Alsobrooks reached a deal on stablecoin yield. The Senate Banking Committee markup is now targeted for late April, and if the bill doesn’t reach the Senate floor by May, midterm election dynamics will likely shelve it for the rest of 2026.
That markup is the single event that could turn survey-level sentiment into actual XRP demand. If the bill advances, banks that are already inside Ripple’s ecosystem have a regulatory path to use XRP directly. If it stalls past May, the survey stays a Ripple story, which would have no positive impact on the XRP price.
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