XRP tokens linked to Ripple have seen a resurgence in positive discussions on social media, a trend that has historically preceded a reversal in price. The token's sentiment ratio on social media spiked to 3.9 on April 29, the highest since March 19, when a similar surge was followed by a sharp decline.
This spike into the 'FOMO zone' indicates that social media commentary is overwhelmingly positive, which is often viewed as a contrarian signal by Santiment. Historically, when social media chatter reaches these levels, the token tends to consolidate or correct in the following days as the buying wave loses momentum.
The recent integration of XRP with Rakuten Pay, allowing users to convert points into XRP, has driven social media sentiment to its second-highest bullish level in two years. This integration enables an estimated 44 million Rakuten users to spend XRP at over 5 million merchant locations, trade it within the Rakuten Pay app, and convert their Rakuten points directly into XRP. The announcement was hailed as a significant milestone for XRP, with the market taking two weeks to fully grasp its implications.
Despite the social media buzz, XRP traded at $1.37 on Thursday, down 2.1% over 24 hours and 3.7% on the week. Santiment also noted that XRP sentiment hit the FUD zone on March 29, leading to a price bounce shortly after.
The pattern in 2026 has been consistent, with crowd sentiment leading price movements by 24 to 72 hours, and crowd extremes often marking reversals. XRP has largely traded between $1.37 and $1.60 throughout April, and a clean break of either side will determine whether the Rakuten integration marks the beginning of a sustained price increase or another fleeting headline.