XRP tokens linked to Ripple have seen a resurgence in positive discussions on social media, a phenomenon that has historically been a contrarian indicator for price movements. The token's positive-to-negative sentiment ratio on social media spiked into what Santiment refers to as the 'FOMO zone' on April 29, reaching 3.9 on the firm's tracker. This reading is the highest since March 19, when a similar spike was followed by a sharp decline. Sentiment ratios above the FOMO line signify that the crowd's commentary is overwhelmingly positive, which Santiment interprets 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. Traders are excited about the fact that XRP, the fourth-largest market cap in crypto, can now be used by an estimated 44 million Rakuten users at over 5 million merchant locations, and can be spot traded inside the Rakuten Pay app.
The conversion of Rakuten points, of which 3 trillion are in circulation, worth roughly $23 billion, directly into XRP has also been a significant factor. This development was hailed by Ripple's senior ecosystem growth manager, Tatsuya Kohrogi, as 'one of the most significant XRP milestones.' The market took two weeks to fully process the implications, with sentiment building gradually before spiking this week. 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 FUD zone, and the token bounced shortly after, a pattern that has been consistent throughout 2026, with crowd sentiment leading price by 24 to 72 hours in either direction, and crowd extremes marking reversals more often than continuations. XRP has spent most of April between $1.37 and $1.60, and a clean break of either side will determine whether the Rakuten integration is the start of a sustained re-rating or another headline that fades into the chart.