In early 2026, a notable capital rotation is underway as investors in the established cryptocurrency Ripple (XRP) are allocating funds to the emerging decentralized finance (DeFi) project, Mutuum Finance (MUTM). The new altcoin's ongoing presale has seen its token price appreciate by approximately 300%, drawing comparisons to the early growth trajectory of XRP itself.
Ripple's XRP, a major player in cross-border payments, is trading around $2.10 with a market capitalization exceeding $120 billion. Its recent price movement has been partly fueled by the introduction of spot XRP exchange-traded funds (ETFs), which have attracted institutional inflows. Despite this momentum, some analysts believe XRP's large market cap may limit near-term percentage gains, prompting a search for higher-growth opportunities.
This search has led a segment of the market, including some XRP "whales," to Mutuum Finance. MUTM is the native token of a soon-to-launch decentralized lending and borrowing protocol. The project is building a dual-market credit system supporting both shared liquidity pools (Peer-to-Contract) and direct, customizable loan agreements between users (Peer-to-Peer).
The project's presale has been a significant driver of interest. Operating in staged pricing phases, the MUTM token price has risen from $0.01 in Phase 1 to $0.04 in the current Phase 7, representing a 300% increase for early participants. The presale has already sold 825 million tokens, raised over $19.7 million, and attracted more than 18,800 holders. A recent large allocation of $115,000 signaled strong confidence from larger investors as Phase 7 nears a sell-out.
Mutuum Finance has emphasized security ahead of its mainnet launch, completing an independent smart contract audit with the renowned firm Halborn Security and establishing a $50,000 bug bounty program. The upcoming V1 protocol launch is a key technical milestone that will activate core lending functions, interest rate logic, and collateral liquidation mechanics.
Analysts drawing parallels between MUTM and early-stage XRP point to factors like low entry valuation, clear utility (DeFi lending vs. payments), and timing—being acquired before major exchange listings. Some bullish projections suggest MUTM could trade between $0.30 and $0.36 within its first year of live operation, representing a potential 650% to 800% gain from the current presale price.
