The price of XRP, Ripple’s native cryptocurrency, has surged over 40% in the past week, driven by a series of positive developments. As of now, XRP stands at $0.6097, reflecting a daily increase of 7.2% and a weekly gain of 40.6%. This impressive rally has seen XRP surpass Solana in 24-hour trading volume, recording $4.39 billion compared to Solana’s $2.78 billion.

New Financial Instruments and Institutional Adoption

The recent spike in XRP’s price began following the announcement by CME Group and CF Benchmarks of new indices and reference rates for the cryptocurrency. This move is seen as a significant step towards broader institutional adoption and integration of XRP into traditional financial markets.

Crypto analysis firm Santiment has observed a notable shift in trader sentiment towards XRP. “With XRP making an emergence this week, bullish narratives have erupted,” the firm stated, contrasting the optimism around XRP with the bearish sentiment surrounding Cardano. Santiment further noted that “counter-trading the crowd’s consensus could prove profitable.”

Ripple Labs’ Political Maneuvering

In a related development, Ripple Labs has made headlines in the political arena. The company recently donated $1 million to the Commonwealth Unity Fund, a new super political action committee (PAC) established by attorney James Murphy. This PAC aims to unseat crypto-skeptic U.S. Senator Elizabeth Warren and support the election of pro-crypto lawyer John Deaton.

The donation, made on May 15, comes amidst Ripple’s ongoing legal battle with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The SEC has accused Ripple of selling unregistered securities in the form of XRP. However, Ripple contests this claim and scored a partial victory last year when a judge ruled that the token “is not necessarily a security on its face,” except when sold to raise funds from institutions.