Trump-linked tokens cratered while XRP quietly climbed after the midterm shake-up, but the biggest catalyst for XRP just got harder to reach. Whales are moving hundreds of millions of coins, and a few price levels will show who is really…
The Crypto Desk desk. Editor: Sam Daodu.
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XRP (CRYPTO:XRP) traded at $1.30, up 3.9% in 24 hours after Democrats gained control of both the House and Senate in the midterm elections. Official Trump (CRYPTO:TRUMP), a meme coin linked to the president, fell sharply by 17%, closing at $1.25.
While XRP’s rise is positive, it remains far below its all-time high of $3.65, down 64.4%. TRUMP coin is in a much worse position, down 98.3% from its peak of $73.43. Amid this contrasting performance, what does a blue Congress mean for XRP, a cryptocurrency particularly exposed to US regulatory decisions?
Political Tokens Decline as XRP Follows Bitcoin’s Lead
Trump-linked tokens suffered losses primarily because their value is closely tied to the president’s political influence. The midterm results have given his opponents more power to scrutinize his crypto dealings, and experts expect Democrats to investigate potential conflicts of interest tied to Trump’s crypto ventures.
As a result, political meme coins, tokens associated with political figures but lacking a real business behind them, collectively dropped over 16%, bringing their market value down to about $477 million.
Over the past week, TRUMP coin has fallen 19.6%. Another Trump-linked token, World Liberty Financial (CRYPTO:WLFI), gained just 1% on November 4, but it’s down 6.3% over the past week and closed at a one-year low.
In comparison, XRP’s 3.9% gain looks modest. It trailed Bitcoin (CRYPTO:BTC), up 4.7%, and Ethereum (CRYPTO:ETH), up 6.7%, over the same 24 hours. XRP typically follows Bitcoin’s lead, and it likely missed a bigger rise because its biggest catalyst is federal legislation, which the election just made harder to pass.
XRP trades above its 20-day moving average of $1.29 and its 200-day average of $1.27. However, it remains below its 50-day average of $1.39, so the medium-term trend is still downward.
CLARITY Act Faces Challenges Amid Election Outcomes
The CLARITY Act, designed to give the Commodity Futures Trading Commission greater authority over cryptocurrency trading while limiting the SEC’s role over certain digital assets, has faced significant hurdles. It passed the House 294-134 in July 2025, but it failed to advance in the Senate on a narrow 49-50 procedural vote in September 2026.
According to Duke University crypto regulation expert Lee Reiners, “CLARITY is dead,” and he believes its passage during the lame-duck session, the period before the new Congress takes office, is unlikely. Shenandoah University accounting professor Martin Mulyadi sees it differently, saying, “The election does not end crypto market-structure legislation; it changes the authors of the next draft.”
Fortunately for XRP holders, the legal battle around the coin remains settled. Ripple and the SEC resolved their lawsuit on August 7, 2025, and that agreement won’t be affected by Congress’s makeup. Regulators appointed under Trump also remain in their positions at the SEC and CFTC.
XRP Whales Moved Far More Supply Around the Midterms
Around the midterms, large XRP holders, often called whales, posted net outflows of about 696 million XRP, worth roughly $905 million, according to CryptoQuant data. That’s a 74.5% increase from the 399 million XRP moved on October 28. Net outflows mean more XRP left these wallets than entered, showing major holders were actively moving their coins while XRP climbed 5.2% over the past week.
Retail interest in XRP is also rising. The XRP Ledger page on Wikipedia saw a 57% increase in views, climbing from 868 to 1,363 between October 29 and November 4. However, interest typically follows price rather than leads it, so the whale outflows look like the stronger signal, as these large holders use the bounce to move coins.
What a Blue Congress Could Mean for XRP Holders in January 2027
A blue Congress likely means a slower, more stringent approach to crypto regulation affecting XRP, especially with the Ripple settlement standing firm. When the new Congress convenes in January 2027, Democrats will take control of the committees handling crypto legislation, and the first sign of their approach will come when they release a market-structure draft that includes investor protections.
XRP’s recent uptick has been largely driven by a Bitcoin-led rally and the possibility of a revised CLARITY Act, though no new draft has emerged yet. XRP ETF inflows also depend on the SEC staying friendly.
If XRP closes below its 200-day moving average of $1.27, the upward momentum may falter. If it can close above the 50-day average of $1.39, it would signal that buyers are starting to engage with XRP beyond merely riding Bitcoin’s coattails.
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Sam Daodu is a crypto analyst and the editor of 24/7 Wall St.'s Crypto Desk, where he covers Bitcoin, XRP, Ethereum, Solana and the altcoins investors search for most. His work focuses on price levels, spot ETF flows, on-chain data and the regulatory decisions that move crypto markets, written so a first-time buyer and a seasoned trader can both use it.
Sam has written about crypto professionally since 2019 and has published more than 2,000 articles. Before joining 24/7 Wall St., he wrote for crypto media outlets and Web3 companies and ghostwrote for crypto founders and token launches. His analysis is syndicated on Yahoo Finance, MSN and AOL and has been cited by other crypto news sites. He also founded MacLabs Marketing, a content and personal branding agency for crypto founders and executives.
When he isn't reading charts, Sam is usually at the gym or watching One Piece, a series he maintains has better tokenomics than most altcoins.
