XRP nears $1.50 as Senate crypto vote and whale buying fuel fresh optimism

• XRP surged to intraday highs near $1.55 on renewed optimism.
• Senate Banking Committee approved the Digital Asset Market Clarity Act in a 15-9 vote.
• XRP price could target a breakout as the market cheers the regulatory milestone.

XRP price rose to near $1.55 on Friday as the cryptocurrency market cheered the Senate Banking Committee’s passage of the Digital Asset Market Clarity Act.

Other crypto assets also notched gains, with Hyperlquid, Flare, and XDC Network leading the top 100 coins by market cap.

Bitcoin also reclaimed the $80,000 level, with intraday highs coming as major altcoins held key levels.

CLARITY Act approval buoys crypto

The US Senate Banking Committee approved the bipartisan Digital Asset Market Clarity Act in a 15-9 vote, marking a significant step toward comprehensive crypto market structure legislation.

The measure will now move to a procedural merger with a similar bill in the Senate Agriculture Committee, advancing the legislative pathway for federal regulation of digital assets.

Senate Banking Committee Chairman Tim Scott engineered a last-minute maneuver to accept amendments he had previously rejected, winning over two Democratic senators after several hours of partisan debate.

While the legislation addresses a range of market structure issues, lawmakers and stakeholders acknowledged outstanding questions.

These include provisions related to law enforcement access and ethics safeguards.

Market participants nonetheless received the vote as a positive signal, interpreting it as the first major bipartisan movement on crypto market structure in months and a reduction of regulatory uncertainty ahead of a full Senate consideration.

Why could XRP price explode?

Ripple’s token XRP has struggled to climb above $1.50 in recent weeks, but tested the level late Thursday with an intraday surge to near $1.55.

While this aligned with broader market gains, the uptick largely reflected exuberance from the “XRP Army”, which views the regulatory tailwind as a major boost to the cryptocurrency.

The cryptocurrency traded around $1.47 early Friday.

🚨 JUST IN: The CLARITY Act has officially cleared the U.S. Senate Banking Committee, pushing ripple:native one step deeper into the U.S. federal regulatory process. 🇺🇸

For ripple:native, what happens next:

1. The CLARITY Act now moves beyond the Senate Banking Committee and… pic.twitter.com/r8HgVcSCBs

— RippleXity (@RippleXity) May 14, 2026

XRP’s retest of the $1.50 level comes amid signs of renewed whale accumulation, with on-chain data showing growth in large-wallet holdings and rising concentration among long-term holders.

On-chain data indicates that this cohort holds a combined 45.83 billion XRP tokens, the biggest haul since May 2018.

A more definitive market-structure framework could ease compliance burdens and encourage fresh adoption of Ripple’s payment solutions, a dynamic that might translate into accelerated demand for XRP.

Risk remains though, with the path to the final vote including further legislative negotiations and potential amendments that might delay enactment into law.

Changes could also dilute near-term benefits for market participants. Nevertheless, analysts view the regulatory backdrop as one that could support sharper price moves.

The token’s price was roughly 5% up in the past week, but it has witnessed a 20% drawdown year-to-date and hovers 61% from its all-time peak.