XRP jumped roughly 7% over the weekend, pushing the token back above $1.41. Spot trading volume surged to about $1.36 billion in 24 hours, and total tracked turnover across markets climbed close to $4.9 billion. The rebound followed a broader crypto rally after Bitcoin broke through $80,000.
The gains stemmed largely from a short squeeze rather than fresh buying pressure. Traders holding bearish XRP positions lost roughly $8 million as prices reversed higher. Long positions absorbed far smaller losses, near $2.4 million, confirming the move mainly punished short sellers.
Futures Activity Still Outpaces Spot Trading
XRP futures volume reached about $5.7 billion, more than four times the spot figure. That gap leaves the rally exposed if leveraged positions unwind quickly. Futures activity had already hit a six-month high in August, a pattern that previously came before sharp price swings.
The rally also arrived without any major fundamental trigger. XRP had slipped toward the $1.23 to $1.30 range earlier in September. That decline followed a failed Senate cloture vote on the CLARITY Act, which fell one vote short of advancing. Saturdayโs bounce therefore looks more like a technical relief move than a shift driven by new developments.
ETF Demand Offers Support, But Whale Deposits Raise Risk
US spot XRP ETFs have now drawn in more than $1.7 billion in inflows. That steady institutional demand gives the token a measure of underlying support. Still, roughly 1.6 billion XRP moved into Binance wallets over the past 30 days, a six-month high for such deposits.
Analysts have suggested the deposits could reflect repositioning rather than an imminent sell-off. Binanceโs XRP reserves, however, sit near a 69-day high, and further gains could still trigger new selling pressure. Rippleโs broader business case keeps building regardless, with XRP and its RLUSD stablecoin now integrated into payment platforms including Stripe and Tempo.
A new derivatives venue adds another variable. The Moscow Exchange plans to launch XRP perpetual futures contracts on September 22. That expansion could bring additional leverage into the market just as XRP works to hold its ground above the $1 mark.
Whether XRP can sustain the current move depends on volume holding above $1 billion through the week. Continued ETF inflows and slowing Binance deposits would support a push toward $1.45 and $1.50. Without that, the rally risks becoming another short-lived bounce within XRPโs recent $1.23 to $1.50 trading range.
