Key Insights:
- XRP price needs to break past $1.60 for another 27% upside to $2 and beyond.
- XRP’s rally coincided with 1,917 whale transactions worth over $100,000, and 3,647 new XRP wallets were recorded.
- Spot XRP ETFs recorded $91.06 million in daily volume and $1.67 billion in AUM.
Ripple’s native digital asset, XRP, has returned to the spotlight after climbing past the vital $1.6 resistance level backed by a 20% gain over the past week. Driven by wider market optimism, this price surge follows robust whale engagement and consistent inflows into spot XRP ETFs, demonstrating that both retail and institutional demand are pushing values upward.
XRP Price Climbs Above $1.6 First Time In Seven Months
Following a drop to approximately $1.0 in mid-August, XRP has exhibited tremendous strength by generating over 60% in returns within slightly more than a month. For the first time in seven months, the token climbed past $1.60, a barrier that acts as a significant resistance point for the cryptocurrency.
Experienced traders such as Peter Brandt have previously shared long-term projections pointing to $5 and higher for XRP. From a technical perspective, analyst Ali Martinez observed that the asset finished forming the right shoulder of a prominent inverse head-and-shoulders formation on the daily timeframe following a 27.6% surge from $1.25 to $1.58.
The analyst additionally pointed out that this major upward movement is supported by substantial whale accumulation, with reports indicating that large investors have gathered more than $2 billion worth of XRP.
Ali highlighted $1.60 as the critical threshold to monitor. A decisive breakout above the neckline could validate the technical formation and potentially spark another 30% advance toward $2, he noted.
An additional crypto analyst, Pharaoh, anticipates XRP will advance into the $2.00–$2.30 bracket over the near term. According to Pharaoh, a pullback is unlikely to generate new lows beneath $1.00; instead, the analyst expects the asset to form a higher low and consolidate prior to launching its next leg upward.
Pharaoh mentioned that while a fresh all-time high is not guaranteed before the conclusion of 2026, it remains entirely feasible. A breakthrough above $2.50 during the fourth quarter, accompanied by sustained trading at that threshold, could heighten the probability of XRP achieving a new all-time high.
The analyst also pointed to $1.84 as the marker above which the yearly price candle turns bullish, noting that movement past $1.85 could quicken momentum, with the subsequent major resistance barrier resting at $2.20.
Ripple Whale Activity Contributes to XRP Price Rally
On-chain intelligence platform Santiment indicated that the recent upward price movement occurred against the backdrop of intense whale participation. The breakout aligned with 1,917 whale transfers exceeding $100,000 in value, representing the highest volume of high-value activity seen in roughly a month.
Santiment noted that large-scale transactions alone do not definitively prove accumulation, yet the metric signals that major investors are actively repositioning alongside the rising price. The analytics firm additionally reported that network growth expanded, with 3,647 new wallets created.
Beyond this, the wider ecosystem displays notable indicators of expansion. The XRPL tokenized-asset and RLUSD reserves recently hit roughly $4.26 billion. Ripple data indicates roughly $2.4 billion of RLUSD is actively circulating, further contributing to stablecoin and institutional settlement utility across the network.
Spot XRP ETFs See Consistent Inflows
amid rising institutional participation within the digital asset sector, spot XRP exchange-traded funds are experiencing steady inflows. Asset management firms such as Bitwise have entered the space by filing an XRP ETF application with the SEC, while financial giants like Goldman Sachs maintain an investment valued at $87 million in XRP exchange-traded products.
Based on statistics from XRP Insights, spot investment products generated $91.06 million in daily trading volume, while total assets under management reached $1.67 billion.
More than 1.12 billion XRP is currently locked across these offerings, with Bitwise leading the sector through $62.22 million in daily volume as institutional exposure broadens.