Ben Cowen Flags XRP (XRP) Bart Simpson Pattern as Price Slips to $1.34

A Chart Formation With a Cartoon Name

XRP (XRP) is back at the center of a bearish chart debate after traders across crypto X flagged the return of the “Bart Simpson” pattern on the XRP charts, a distribution formation first coined in 2015 that mirrors the cartoon character's spiky hairline. Ben Cowen, founder of Into the Cryptoverse, told his 1.2 million followers on X that the setup appears to be taking shape, reigniting a chart-pattern discussion across the platform. The pattern unfolds in three phases: a sudden spike that lures momentum buyers, a flat sideways range in which volume thins out, and a snap-back reversal that often leaves late entrants serving as exit liquidity. In XRP's case, the spike began on Aug. 19, with the price surging from roughly $1 to $1.52 by Aug. 22. The token has since sat in the flat-range phase, drifting lower and hovering near $1.32 earlier in the session before a modest bounce. Not everyone expects the pattern to complete. Mati Greenspan, founder of Quantum Economics, argued that a true Bart Simpson requires at least a 20% pullback and said he cannot recall a clean example in years, noting that deeper liquidity, market depth and institutional participation have quietly faded such formations from regular price action. He conceded, however, that the setup is present for XRP given its near-vertical rally from around $1 to $1.70. Frank Hepworth, CEO of New Market Trading, is more cautious, describing the shape as a classic distribution pattern in which large holders sell into retail buying. He also stressed XRP's relative weakness: with the XRP/BTC pair slipping back under its 20-week moving average, he expects XRP to underperform in any correction, projecting a drop to between $0.55 and $1.21 should bitcoin pull back toward $70,000 — and as low as $0.46 if bitcoin falls to $58,000.

told his 1.2 million followers on Xhttps://x.com/benjamincowen/status/2094927869537341923

Goldman Sachs Tops XRP ETF Holdings

Institutional positioning, however, tells a more constructive story. Data compiled by Bloomberg Intelligence analyst James Seyffart from second-quarter 13F disclosures shows Goldman Sachs holding the largest reported position in XRP exchange-traded funds, at roughly $87.4 million — about 84 million XRP. Jane Street Group ranks second with nearly 16 million XRP valued at $16.6 million, followed by Millennium Management with approximately 15.5 million XRP worth $16.2 million. Intesa Sanpaolo reported $14.4 million in exposure, with Marex UK Holdings at about $8.1 million. The additions were not universal: Citadel Advisors trimmed roughly $645,000 from its stake, while SIG Holdings cut a larger $4.6 million. In aggregate, disclosed institutional holdings across the tracked funds total about $183.5 million, equivalent to roughly 176.4 million XRP. By institution type, investment advisers account for $120.9 million of the total, hedge funds $25.1 million, brokerage firms $17.9 million and banks $14.8 million. The accumulation through spot trading vehicles extends a flow streak we documented earlier this week, when US spot XRP ETFs logged $170 million in inflows across 11 straight sessions. The disclosures arrive as the token cools from its August highs, making flow data a key gauge of whether institutions view the pullback as an entry point — our beginner guide on how to buy XRP covers the venues where such spot exposure is built. For shorter-term traders, attention has narrowed to the $1.35–$1.38 band, viewed as a support zone whose loss would open the door to deeper selling, while analyst Ali Martinez identifies $1.60 as the key resistance XRP must reclaim to restore upward momentum. The tension between growing ETF demand and a cooling price is now the market's central puzzle across the broader altcoin market, and how it resolves likely depends on whether fresh spot flows can absorb whatever distribution the Bart setup implies. Readers tracking the market in real time can follow live spot and futures prices on Binance.

$1.29 Support Now Decides the Setup

COINOTAG's proprietary 42-indicator composite S/R scoring engine rates the $1.3430 resistance at 84/100, driven by an Ichimoku Kijun, Fibonacci 0.500 and a MACD cross, while the $1.2910 support scores 89/100 on a flipped prior resistance, ATR-lower and the 0.618 Fibonacci. Spot trades at $1.3396, down 2.81% in 24 hours, with the RSI at 57.41 and the MACD signal bearish in a sideways trend. Derivatives lean crowded: funding sits at 0.0068%, open interest near $893 million and the long/short account ratio at 2.84 (73.9% long), paired with a 63/100 Fear and Greed Index reading. Bulls need to hold $1.2910 and reclaim $1.3430 toward $1.4272 (75/100); a daily close below $1.2910 invalidates that view, echoing the $369 million long squeeze from earlier.