XRP Jumps 15% to $1.22 in Short-Squeeze Rally

XRP rebounded more than 10% on August 20, briefly climbing toward $1.10 as a violent reversal in Bitcoin forced over $1 billion in short liquidations within roughly an hour — one of the largest such deleveraging events since tracking began in 2021. Bitcoin surged more than 8% to a high of $72,281 after months of decline, triggering a classic short squeeze in which heavy buying, amplified by short sellers covering positions, compounded the upward move. For XRP, the single-day gain marked its largest daily increase since February 6, 2026. Amid the volatility, UE Crypto, a London-based cloud mining provider founded in 2015, launched a contract-based cloud mining service for XRP, BTC and other digital assets, according to a company announcement. The platform lets holders deploy hashrate without purchasing or maintaining their own ASIC mining hardware, lowering the equipment and technical barriers associated with traditional mining. Some high-capacity plans carry potential daily earnings of up to $10,000, the company said, with actual returns tied to the investment amount, contract terms and computing power allocated. According to the company, UE Crypto’s services span more than 150 countries and regions. The product targets holders seeking income beyond price appreciation, a growing priority after months of declining prices built pronounced bear-market sentiment that the squeeze abruptly reversed.

The rebound extended as the session progressed, with XRP trading 18% higher near $1.18 in a follow-through move. A day earlier, the token had jumped 10%, beating Bitcoin’s 7% gain and finishing third among the eight largest cryptocurrencies during a record-wide short squeeze. Based on the altcoin’s 180-day correlation with Bitcoin, that move implied roughly 6.57% upside, yet the token outperformed by 3.83 percentage points — real outperformance rather than a simple beta ride. Daily turnover above $3–4 billion suggested the move carried genuine participation rather than thin-book noise. Spot ETF flows, however, told a different story: Bitcoin funds attracted $517 million that day, nearly triple the previous pace, while XRP’s institutional products remained comparatively quiet. The divergence between retail momentum and institutional confirmation now frames the next test. Technical analysis highlighted the $1.10–$1.12 band that had capped rallies since early August, with the 200-day moving average near $1.28 flagged as the next major hurdle. A confirmed break above $1.20 would open the way toward the $1.29–$1.45 zone, whereas a rejection could send price back toward the $1.00 floor that has held all year; a break below that level would invalidate the rally thesis. For the altcoin, this week’s squeeze revived a narrative not seen since 2020, but the persistence of the move now depends on whether institutional flows follow.

By Thursday evening, XRP had become the strongest performer among the top 100 cryptocurrencies by market capitalization, gaining 24% in 24 hours to trade near $1.26 and extending its seven-day advance to 31%, according to market data. The rally stood out even within a broad altcoin move: Hyperliquid rose 19.4%, Ethena gained 18.8% and Pepe advanced 17.6% over the same stretch, while Filecoin, Dogecoin and Cronos also posted double-digit gains. Trading data from Upbit, South Korea’s largest exchange, showed XRP volume surpassing $399 million, pointing to strong retail participation from a country where XRP has historically drawn outsized interest. Institutional activity also registered: Hunter Horsley, CEO of Bitwise, said the firm’s XRP exchange-traded fund saw session volume above $55 million, calling the increase a “massive spike.” Separately, BitPay announced that its wallet now supports XRP, letting users in the United States and other supported countries buy, swap and sell the token directly while retaining control of their private keys. The adoption updates came as the token’s trading volume reached approximately $6.34 billion, with a market capitalization around $79.15 billion, though the rally still left XRP well below its all-time high.

Supportive signals from Washington emerged as an additional catalyst, with the US Treasury doubling its long-term bond buybacks and President Trump voicing support for the CLARITY Act during a White House meeting. On-chain data reinforced the shift, as CryptoQuant analyst Crypto Dan flagged a vertical rise in Bitcoin's MVRV ratio — the first powerful signal of the current bear cycle — a pattern that historically preceded major cycle bottoms. Both assets headed toward their strongest weekly closes since 2024, with Bitcoin trading above $79,000, up roughly 25% over seven days after adding about $280 billion to market capitalization in under five days, while XRP pushed near $1.40, gaining about 31% on the week — its best weekly performance since November 2024.

XRP has now pushed past the $1.30 resistance, printing an intraday high of $1.32 as buying volume surged to levels unseen since the February crash. The token’s 22% rally over recent sessions has erased most of the year’s losses, and a sustained move above $1.34 could open the door to $1.60–$1.80, according to technical analysis. Standard Chartered holds a longer-term price target of $2.8, though caution is warranted with the daily RSI above 80, signaling overbought conditions. The reclaimed $1 level must hold as support; a fade back below $1.10 would invalidate the breakout thesis and potentially expose a downside toward $0.62. If XRP can claim $1.6, it would register a higher high and officially end its downtrend.

(as of 12:47 UTC) XRP currently trades at $1.3818, up 16.36% over the past 24 hours, per COINOTAG’s proprietary market data. COINOTAG’s 42-indicator composite S/R scoring engine places immediate support at $1.3344, rated 70/100 on the confluence of VWAP, ATR Lower and Fibonacci 0.618, while resistance at $1.4234 scores 70/100, underpinned by LVN, Value Area High, HVN and Fibonacci 0.786. RSI at 82.48 signals overbought conditions even as MACD stays bullish. Perpetual funding of 0.0063%, open interest of $941.5 million and a long/short account ratio of 2.71 — 73.0% of accounts long — suggest crowded positioning. With the Fear & Greed Index at 72 (Greed), the bullish scenario targets the $1.4234 resistance; a daily close below the $1.3344 support would invalidate the near-term thesis and open the path to $1.2755.