Why is XRP price up today?

XRP price is up today, mirroring upside moves elsewhere in the cryptoсurrency market.Things to know:XRP’s price has jumped by around 3% on Feb. 11, on course to record its best intraday performance in over a week.The gains appear as chances of an XRP-specific exchange-traded fund (ETF) approval in the US increase.Ripple’s partnership with Unicâmbio supports XRP’s upside.Increasing XRP ETF approval odds fuel speculationXRP price trades in a second straight bullish session on the daily chart as analysts see an increasing likelihood of XRP ETF filings receiving a green light from the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).Key points: On Feb. 10, Bloomberg ETF analysts Eric Balchunas and James Seyffart included XRP among their list of the most likely crypto ETF filings to receive approval from the SEC.XRP ETFs hold a 65% chance of approval, according to their Monday post on X. Several asset managers, including CoinShares, Grayscale, 21Shares, Canary, and Bitwise, have already filed applications for XRP spot ETFs.This signals strong institutional interest. However, the SEC has yet to acknowledge the filings.XRP ETFs could pull off an impressive performance if approved, and the increasing possibility of this happening has sparked speculation, as evidenced by the altcoin’s derivatives market.Open interest in XRP futures increased by approximately $290 million over the last 24 hours,This indicates that more traders are opening leveraged positions on XRP, likely anticipating big price moves.XRP’s funding rates—periodic payments exchanged between long and short traders in perpetual futures contracts to keep prices aligned with the spot market—turned positive.This shift suggests that traders are paying to take long positions or betting on a price increase. Ripple’s partnership with UnicâmbioThe bullishness in XRP price today can also be attributed to Ripple’s latest announcement that it has partnered with Portuguese currency exchange provider Unicâmbio to support instant cross-border payments between Portugal and Brazil.What you should know:The partnership will leverage Ripple’s payment platforms to make faster and cheaper cross-border settlements.It also strives to increase efficiency in the process.This marks the first Ripple payment solution in Portugal, expanding the company’s footprint in Europe.“Our partnership with Unicâmbio is a significant milestone in Ripple’s European expansion. Portugal has developed a thriving crypto ecosystem, so we are delighted to open up our payments solution to partners there,” said Cassie Craddock, Managing Director, UK and Europe, at Ripple, adding:“As the global cross-border payments market continues to expand, more institutions like Unicâmbio are leaning in to benefit from the inherent benefits of blockchain technology.”Analysts see XRP price rising to $8In response to the latest recovery in XRP price, Dark Defender, an anonymous crypto analyst, said that the altcoin could hit an intermediate cycle target of $5.85 and a long-term target of $8.76 based on the Elliott Wave Theory in the daily time frame.“XRP almost finalized the consolidation on the daily Chart, as seen from the RSI lows. Wave 3 is preparing to fire the bullet against the $5.85 parapet. The short-term target is $5.85 and $8.76.”Dark Defender has used this structure to anticipate these targets since July 2023, when the price ranged between $0.40 and $0.50. Recently, the same analyst projected the XRP price to go as high as $18 this cycle.Fellow analyst CasiTrades also noted that XRP is in the fourth wave of its intermediate cycle in the hourly timeframe, with an anticipated C wave pushing the price toward $2.92. “We are at a decision in the market being at the apex of the consolidation now! A break above would target $2.92 for a potential C wave. Breaking down would target the support I’ve listed.”As Cointelegraph noted earlier, XRP price recovering above the 50-day SMA at $2.63 would confirm the return of a bull market structure. This article does not contain investment advice or recommendations. Every investment and trading move involves risk, and readers should conduct their own research when making a decision.