XRP sank nearly 4% as bitcoin fell below the $88,000 mark on Sunday, ahead of a busy week with the Federal Reserve’s two-day FOMC meeting starting Wednesday and major tech players announcing earnings.
News background
- The consolidation came as spot XRP ETFs recorded their first meaningful weekly outflows since launch, totaling around $40.6 million, signaling short-term institutional profit-taking rather than new risk-on positioning.
- There were no negative developments around Ripple or the XRP Ledger during the period.
- Ripple’s regulatory status and payment usage remain intact, leaving price action driven primarily by market structure, positioning and reduced participation rather than fundamentals.
Price action overview
- XRP fell from around $1.92 to $1.90 during the 24-hour period ending January 25, trading within a tight 1.8% range. Price repeatedly tested support near $1.88-$1.89, a level that has now held several times since XRP fell back below $2.00 earlier this week.
- The most notable move of the session took place around 09:00 UTC, with volume briefly rising to 34.5 million tokens as XRP fell towards $1.89 before bouncing back above $1.90.
- That move marked a failed breakout attempt rather than the start of a trend. Following the rejection, trading activity fell sharply, with volume collapsing to the close – a sign that both buyers and sellers were backing off.
- On an intraday basis, XRP attempted a modest pullback towards $1.92, but was quickly rejected, sending the price back towards $1.90. The inability to regain higher levels reinforced the broader sideways structure.
Technical analysis
From a technical standpoint, XRP remains stuck in consolidation rather than trending. The market has created a clear base near $1.88, forming what technicians would describe as a triple-bottom support zone. Each test has attracted buyers, but rebounds have been shallow.
Resistance remains layered above price. Short-term selling pressure is around $1.93-$1.95, while a more significant bearish trend line is coming closer to $2.10. As long as XRP remains below these levels, upside attempts will likely fade.
Volume behavior supports the consolidation view. Participation surges have coincided with reversals rather than breakouts, and the sharp drop in volume towards the end suggests indecision, not aggressive accumulation or distribution.
What traders should know
Most importantly, XRP is compressing, not collapsing.
- Support near $1.88 holds, indicating sellers are losing momentum rather than accelerating.
- Volume is drying up, which often precedes a larger move once the direction is resolved.
- ETF outflows reflect rotation and profit-taking, not a loss of confidence in the asset.
For now:
- A move above $1.95 would signal the start of structural repair towards $2.03-$2.06.
- A break below $1.85 would invalidate the base and reopen downside risk.
- Until then, XRP is likely to remain range-bound, frustrating trend traders but preferring short-term mean-reversion setups.
Simply put: XRP is not weak enough to break, but not strong enough to run – yet.
