From cointelegraph by Nancy Lubale

XRP XRP$2.68 price is up today, rising by nearly 4.5% over the last 24 hours to reclaim the $2.50 level amid investor excitement over the official launch of Ripple’s RLUSD stablecoin. 

Let’s take a closer look at the factors behind XRP’s momentum today.

XRP price boosted by RLUSD stablecoin launch

Data from Cointelegraph Markets Pro and TradingView shows that XRP rose from a low of $2.33 on Dec. 16, rising as much as 8.6% to an intra-day high of $2.54 on Dec. 17, before retreating slightly to the current level of $2.52.

XRP’s rally follows a Dec. 16 announcement by Ripple that its Ripple USD (RLUSD) stablecoin will begin trading globally on Dec. 17.

In a press release on Dec. 17, the San Francisco-based company revealed that its RLUSD stablecoin will officially launch across exchanges, including MoonPay, Uphold, CoinMENA, Bitso and ArchaxEx.

Related: XRP rally and RLUSD anticipation fuel activity on Xaman Wallet

RLUSD is an “enterprise-grade, USD-denominated stablecoin created with trust, utility, and compliance at its core,” Ripple noted.

“The release of RLUSD marks a new chapter – both for the XRP Ledger, as well as Ripple for use in our $70B+ payments flows,” said Ripple’s president, Monica Long, in a Dec. 16 post on X, adding:

“Combining our 10+ yrs in the business; the rigor and compliance required with stablecoin issuance by a @NYDFS chartered company; and an experienced Advisory Board – RLUSD is launching from Day 1 with credibility, utility and a whole host of partners ready to support it!”

The news comes after RLUSD received approval to launch from the New York Department of Financial Services (NYDFS) on Dec. 10. 

Pegged 1:1 to the US dollar, RLUSD is set to launch on the XRPL and Ethereum blockchains and will be backed by cash reserves and US treasury bills. RLUSD will require XRP for transaction fees.

Bullish sentiments surrounding the launch could help XRP's price overcome the $2.90 resistance level and move higher into territories above $3.0.

XRP validates bull flag pattern

XRP confirmed a bull flag pattern on Dec. 16 when it closed above the upper boundary of the flag at $2.41. XRP is currently testing the resistance level at $2.60 after establishing support from the flag’s previous resistance line.

Key resistance levels to watch on the upside are $2.80, the six-year high of $2.90 and the $3.00 psychological level. A high volume move above these resistance levels could accelerate the rally to all-time highs at $3.48 and into price discovery.

The maximum profit target from the pole’s length indicates that XRP could hit a new all-time high of $6.40. This would represent a 154% uptick from current prices.

Meanwhile, the relative strength index (RSI) is above the midline and has risen from 61 to 67 over the last seven days, indicating increasing bullish momentum. The RSI’s value of 67 suggests that there is more room for the upside before overheated conditions set in again.

Conversely, a daily candlestick close below the support level at $2.41 will invalidate the thesis. If this happens, XRP could continue consolidating within the flag for a few more days.