Tokens linked to Ripple have seen a resurgence in positive discussions on social media, a pattern that has historically preceded a contrarian price signal. The ratio of positive to negative sentiment about the token spiked into what Santiment refers to as the 'FOMO zone' on April 29, reaching 3.9 on the firm's tracker. This is the highest level since March 19, when a similar spike was followed by a sharp decline.
According to Santiment, sentiment ratios above the FOMO line indicate overwhelmingly positive crowd commentary, which the firm views as a contrarian signal. Historically, when social media chatter reaches these levels, the token tends to consolidate or correct in the following days as the buyers driving the social wave exhaust their demand. The recent integration of XRP with Rakuten, allowing users to convert points into XRP, has contributed to the asset's second-highest bullish sentiment on social media in the past two years.
The trigger for this surge appears to be the Rakuten Pay integration, which went live in early April and added XRP as a payment method across the Japanese wallet application's ecosystem. This deal 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.
Despite the social media frenzy, XRP traded at $1.37 on Thursday, down 2.1% over 24 hours and 3.7% on the week. Santiment also noted that on March 29, XRP sentiment hit the 'fear, uncertainty, and doubt' zone, after which the token bounced back. The pattern in 2026 has been consistent, with crowd sentiment leading price movements by 24 to 72 hours in either direction, and crowd extremes often marking reversals rather than continuations. XRP has spent most of April fluctuating between $1.37 and $1.60, and a clean break of either side will determine whether the Rakuten integration marks the start of a sustained re-rating or another fleeting headline.