XRP (XRP) Rallies 45% in a Week to Lead Major Altcoins

XRP Logs 45% Weekly Surge

XRP delivered the strongest weekly performance among major altcoins, climbing 45% over the past seven days to trade near $1.39, good for fifth place by market capitalization. Among the top ten cryptocurrencies, only Hyperliquid (HYPE) outperformed the token over the same window — recent fund-flow data shows HYPE ETFs drew $24.42 million in a single day. The rally gathered pace after Bitcoin reclaimed the $80,000 level, a move that historically pulls speculative capital toward higher-beta altcoin rotation. Trading in Bitwise's XRP ETF also spiked: the product turned over more than $200 million across three consecutive sessions through August 24, with August 24 alone clearing $80 million and the two prior days each topping $60 million — all among the fund's highest-volume days since listing. One caveat from our desk: ETF share turnover measures trading activity, not net new capital, and only creations and redemptions reveal whether lasting demand followed the price. On-chain data shows address activity on the XRP Ledger, the network behind what is XRP, also picked up alongside the ETF surge.

Warsh Speech Triggers 5% Drop

The weekly advance then took a hit from Washington. XRP slid roughly 5% to about $1.38 on Friday, after touching an intraday high of $1.47, as Fed Chair Kevin Warsh delivered a hawkish message at the annual Jackson Hole symposium. Warsh said the central bank's 2% inflation target remains intact and that price pressures are still elevated, noting that 54% of the components in the personal consumption expenditures index rose more than 3% over the past 12 months. Markets began repricing a fresh rate hike at the September meeting — short-term rates, Warsh reiterated, remain the primary tool for the Fed's dual mandate. Higher rate expectations typically compress appetite for risk assets, and crypto sold off quickly; the live spot tape confirms the pressure, with XRP down 4.9% over the last 24 hours. Even after the dip, market data still shows the token roughly 39% higher over the past 30 days.

Derivatives Selling Hits 2026 Extreme

Beneath the price action, the derivatives market tells a more cautious story. Binance net taker volume for XRP dropped to -$96 million — the most aggressive sell-side push recorded this year — while open interest on the same exchange climbed about 14.8%, a combination that signals new money entering on the short side rather than traders simply walking away. A 90-day cumulative volume delta reading likewise flags sustained sell dominance. Futures open interest sits near $3.46 billion, down roughly $30.17 million in 24 hours, and about $20 million in leveraged longs were liquidated during the pullback — forced deleveraging, not spot rotation. On levels, immediate support and resistance mapping puts floors at $1.41, then $1.39, with a firmer base near $1.37-$1.38; resistance clusters at $1.46-$1.49 ahead of the $1.50-$1.55 supply zone. A close below $1.37 would invalidate the rebound structure and expose $1.34, so traders running perpetual contracts should watch that threshold closely.

$15 and $20 Targets Circulate

Bullish voices remain undeterred by the macro turn. Analyst JAVON MARKS, who has called past XRP bull runs, argued that the current structure is breaking out of a smaller bullish wedge or flag that could trigger a continuation above the all-time high toward $15 — a “measured-move target” he ties to the 2017 cycle, when a similar larger structure broke out and was later greatly exceeded, implying nearly 1,000% upside from current levels. Another commentator went further, envisioning $20 — a level that would require XRP's market capitalization to jump beyond $1 trillion, a size only Bitcoin currently exceeds. More near-term, one trader flagged that the sell wall near $1.49 “remains solid” and that XRP was again rejected at the point of control. Institutional context still supports the bulls: spot XRP ETFs posted their best week since May, logging eight consecutive green days, a streak last seen at the very start of the year. Readers tracking the market in real time can follow live spot and futures prices on Gate.

Taker Flow Flips Before $1.49 Falls

The week's four threads — a 45% rally, a hawkish Fed, record derivatives selling and four-figure price targets — trace a single arc: conviction is high, but positioning is stretched. The load-bearing record here is exchange derivatives data itself: Binance's own order flow shows net taker volume at -$96 million alongside rising open interest, a configuration in which shorts are actively accumulating against a spot market still up roughly 39% on the month. Our reading is that until taker flow flips positive and the $1.49 wall gives way, rallies remain vulnerable to macro repricing. The institutional plumbing keeps deepening in the background — Ripple's RLUSD recently crossed $1 billion in circulating supply on the XRP Ledger — and readers new to the asset can start with our beginner's guide to buying XRP.