The price of XRP, the native token of Ripple, has skyrocketed by over 40% in the past week, amid a confluence of positive developments for the cryptocurrency.

They include the launch of new financial instruments for XRP and a potential shift in the regulatory landscape.

Per data from CoinGecko, the price of XRP currently stands at $0.6097, up 7.2% on the day and 40.6% on the week, with the cryptocurrency also overtaking Solana in 24-hour trading volume.

XRP recorded a 24 hour trading volume of $4.39 billion, surpassing Solana's $2.78 billion, further cementing its position as a major player in the cryptocurrency market.

XRP’s upward trajectory kicked off last week following an announcement by CME Group and CF Benchmarks regarding the introduction of indices and reference rates for the cryptocurrency.

This development has been viewed as a step towards broader institutional adoption and integration of XRP into traditional financial markets.

Crypto analysis firm Santiment has noted a significant shift in trader sentiment towards XRP.

"With XRP making an emergence this week, bullish narratives have erupted." the firm said in a statement, contrasting it with the bearish sentiment surrounding Cardano. Santiment added that "counter-trading the crowd's consensus could prove profitable."

Ripple Labs enters political fray

In a related development, Ripple Labs has made waves in the political arena.

The company recently donated $1 million to the Commonwealth Unity Fund, a new super political action committee (PAC).

This PAC, established by attorney James Murphy, 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 at a time when Ripple is engaged in an ongoing legal battle with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

The SEC has alleged that Ripple, whose founders were behind the development of XRP, engaged in sales of unregistered securities in the form of XRP.

Ripple vehemently contests the claim, and scored a partial court victory last year when a judge ruled that the XRP token "is not necessarily a security on its face," except when it was sold to raise funds from institutions.