XRP Price Falls Below $1.45 as Crowded Leverage Raises Liquidation Risk

Key Takeaways

• XRP traded near $1.41 on August 27, roughly 17% below its recent $1.70 peak but still almost 27% higher over seven days.
• Futures open interest remained near $3.46 billion, while derivatives trading volume significantly exceeded spot activity.
• The $1.35–$1.36 area is the key near-term support zone, while XRP must recover above $1.45–$1.55 to rebuild bullish momentum.

XRP slipped below $1.45 on August 27 as profit-taking and leveraged liquidations interrupted one of the cryptocurrency market’s strongest recent rallies.

The token traded at approximately $1.41 at the time of writing, down about 2% over 24 hours. Despite the correction, XRP remained nearly 27% higher over the previous seven days, reflecting the speed of its earlier advance from around $1.00 to almost $1.70.

The immediate concern is not simply the price decline. Derivative positioning remained elevated even as XRP formed lower highs, increasing the risk that additional losses could force leveraged traders to close their positions.

XRP Rally Loses Momentum After Reaching $1.70

XRP’s latest rally began near $1.00 in mid-August and accelerated as broader cryptocurrency sentiment improved. The token briefly approached $1.70, representing an increase of approximately 70% from its starting point.

However, buyers were unable to maintain the price above the $1.50–$1.55 region. XRP subsequently fell through $1.45 and briefly approached $1.37 before recovering towards $1.41.

The retreat from $1.70 amounts to a correction of roughly 17%. While that has not erased the broader weekly advance, the appearance of lower highs suggests that the original burst of momentum is weakening.

Falling below $1.45 is also technically significant because the level sits near the midpoint of XRP’s recent short-term trading range. It now represents an initial resistance area rather than immediate support.

Elevated Leverage Increases Forced-Selling Risk

Derivatives data indicates that leverage expanded rapidly during XRP’s rally.

CoinGlass showed approximately $3.46 billion in XRP futures open interest. Over the preceding 24 hours, futures volume reached about $6.15 billion, compared with approximately $1.31 billion in spot volume.

This means derivatives activity was nearly five times larger than spot trading. Such an imbalance does not guarantee further losses, but it can make price movements more sensitive to liquidations and changes in funding conditions.

Approximately $16 million in XRP futures positions were liquidated over the latest rolling 24-hour period. Long positions accounted for most of the liquidations during the initial correction as traders who had positioned for additional gains were forced to exit.

Long accounts also outnumbered short accounts on Binance and OKX during the decline. When positioning becomes heavily concentrated in one direction, even a relatively modest price move can trigger stop-loss orders and automatic liquidation mechanisms.

Open interest remaining elevated while the price declines would indicate that the market has not completed its deleveraging process. In contrast, falling open interest alongside price stabilisation could suggest that excess positions are being cleared.

XRP ETF Inflows Offer a Counterweight

Demand from US spot XRP exchange-traded funds remained positive despite the pressure in derivatives markets.

The products attracted $28.14 million in net inflows on August 26, according to SoSoValue figures reported by Phemex. Cumulative net inflows reached approximately $1.62 billion.

The Bitwise XRP ETF led the session with $13.12 million, while the Franklin XRP ETF received approximately $9 million. Total net assets across US spot XRP ETFs stood at close to $1.40 billion.

Continued ETF inflows may provide underlying spot demand while leveraged traders reduce their exposure. However, ETF buying does not establish a guaranteed price floor. Its stabilising effect would weaken if daily inflows slowed or turned into sustained outflows.

The contrast between positive ETF flows and unstable derivatives positioning has therefore become central to XRP’s near-term outlook.

Macro and XRP Ledger Developments Supported the Initial Rally

XRP’s advance occurred alongside a broader cryptocurrency recovery that lifted Bitcoin from below $68,000 towards $80,000.

Sentiment improved after the US Treasury announced that it would at least double the maximum size of long-dated liquidity-support buybacks from $2 billion to $4 billion per operation. Importantly, the Treasury’s announcement stated that the larger operations would begin on September 9.

Any immediate market effect therefore came through expectations for improved Treasury-market liquidity and lower long-term yields, rather than purchases that had already taken place. The timing also means the policy announcement should be viewed as one contributor to sentiment rather than the sole cause of the cryptocurrency rally.

Ripple-related developments provided another supportive narrative. Ripple joined Clearpool and Cicada Partners in developing institutional credit infrastructure on the XRP Ledger, with proposed loans denominated in the RLUSD stablecoin.

However, the underlying lending protocols were still being tested and remained subject to community approval. The initiative may strengthen the XRP Ledger’s longer-term institutional use case, but it does not necessarily create immediate demand for XRP.

XRP Price Analysis: Is $1.35 the Next Key Level?

XRP’s daily chart shows fading momentum following the rapid move to $1.70. Buyers have repeatedly failed to recover the $1.50 area, while trading volume has eased from the levels recorded during the initial breakout.

The daily Money Flow Index stood near 59.7 after briefly moving above 80. The decline from overbought territory indicates that buying pressure has cooled, although the indicator remains well above levels normally associated with an oversold market.

On the four-hour chart, XRP moved below the Donchian Channel midpoint near $1.454. The channel’s lower boundary, around $1.357, closely matches the support formed during the latest decline.

A sustained break below $1.35–$1.36 would weaken the current range and could expose $1.30. If leveraged liquidations accelerate, the previous breakout area between $1.20 and $1.25 may become relevant.

On the upside, XRP would first need to recover $1.45–$1.46. A move above that area could return attention to $1.50, followed by the stronger resistance around $1.55.

Breaking and holding above $1.55 would improve the short-term structure and bring the recent $1.67–$1.70 peak back into focus. These levels represent potential technical scenarios rather than guaranteed price targets.

What Could Determine XRP’s Next Move?

The relationship between price and open interest will be one of the clearest indicators of whether the correction is stabilising. A declining price accompanied by persistently high leverage would leave XRP vulnerable to further forced selling.

ETF flows are the other important variable. Continued spot demand could absorb part of the supply created by liquidations, while sustained ETF outflows would remove one of the market’s current sources of support.

Traders will also monitor Bitcoin, Treasury yields and broader risk appetite. XRP substantially outperformed Bitcoin during the initial rally, but that higher sensitivity can work in both directions when cryptocurrency sentiment weakens.

For now, the longer-term weekly advance remains intact, but the market has shifted from momentum-driven buying to a test of leveraged positioning. The $1.35–$1.36 support zone and the $1.45–$1.55 recovery range are likely to determine whether XRP consolidates or extends its correction.