XRP sees slight gains as Ripple CEO express need for XRP inclusion in US digital asset reserve

• Ripple CEO Brad Garlinghouse suggested a multi-asset US crypto reserve as against a Bitcoin-only reserve.
• Ripple announced a partnership with Ondo Finance to launch OUSG on XRP Ledger. 
• XRP tested a bullish pennant resistance as it eyes a potential rally above $4.

XRP saw slight gains on Tuesday after Ripple CEO Brad Garlinghouse dismissed claims that he lobbied against a Bitcoin strategic reserve. Instead, he emphasized the need for a multi-asset US crypto reserve strategy. Meanwhile, Ripple announced its partnership with Ondo Finance for the latter to launch its Ondo Short-Term US Government Treasuries (OUSG) on the XRP Ledger.

Ripple's Brad Garlinghouse discusses the importance of diversified crypto-asset reserve

Ripple CEO Brad Garlinghouse confirmed that he had advocated for the possibility of the US government to include XRP as part of its digital asset reserve.

In an X post on Monday, Garlinghouse stated the importance of diversification, arguing that any reserve should reflect the broader cryptocurrency industry rather than focusing on Bitcoin or any single asset.

"We live in a multichain world, and I've advocated for a level-playing field instead of one token versus another. If a government digital asset reserve is created, I believe it should be representative of the industry, not just one token — whether it be BTC, XRP or anything else," Garlinghouse stated. 

He also dismissed claims that his push for XRP's inclusion in the US crypto reserve aimed to undermine Bitcoin.

Market commentator Walter Bloomberg stated that Garlinghouse cleared the air on his alleged stand against a Bitcoin strategic reserve.

The notion had been promoted by Bitcoin maxis, including Pierre Rochard, who recently criticized Garlinghouse and the Ripple team. Rochard stated in an X post on Thursday that Garlinghouse has been the major obstacle to the Bitcoin reserve and is pushing for an XRP reserve instead.

However, Garlinghouse tagged Bitcoin Maxis' advocacy for a Bitcoin-only strategic reserve as an outdated form of thinking.

"Maximalism remains the enemy of crypto progress, and I'm very glad to see fewer and fewer folks ascribe to this outdated and misinformed thinking," Garlinghouse stated.

In other news, Ripple partnered with Ondo Finance, a tokenized real-world asset platform, to expand its Ondo Short-Term US Government Treasuries (OUSG) — which is currently backed by BlackRock's BUIDL fund — to the XRP Ledger.

XRP tests bullish flag resistance, eyes rally to $4.23

XRP saw $8.89 million in futures liquidations in the past 24 hours, per Coinglass data. The total amount of long and short liquidations accounted for $3.10 million and $5.78 million, respectively.

On Tuesday, XRP tested the upper boundary resistance of a bullish flag or pennant pattern after reclaiming the $2.90 support level. A firm breakout above the flag could see XRP test its seven-year high resistance at $3.55. If XRP clears this resistance, it could rally to $4.23 — a level obtained by measuring the height of the flag's pole and projecting it upward from a potential breakout point.

XRP/USDT 8-hour chart

The developing pattern marks XRP's second bullish flag since November.

On the downside, XRP risks a decline to $2.62 if it sees a firm break below the $2.90 support level.

The Relative Strength Index (RSI) and Stochastic Oscillator (Stoch) are above their neutral levels, indicating bullish momentum is still dominant. However, the Moving Average Convergence Divergence (MACD) histograms are below their midline, indicating weakening bullish momentum.

A daily candlestick close below $2.62 will invalidate the thesis.