XRP price is back under pressure after an explosive August advance ran out of momentum near $1.70. On September 2, the token traded around $1.3179, leaving it below the closely watched $1.35 support area and down 22.4% from its recent peak of $1.698.
The pullback matters because it comes just days after one of XRP’s strongest monthly moves in years. August delivered a 71.8% intramonth rally from $0.988 to $1.698, but a meaningful share of those gains has already been surrendered as traders confront fresh supply, technical resistance, and rising macro risk.
For investors, the immediate question is whether XRP can reclaim the $1.35 to $1.38 zone or whether that former floor turns into resistance ahead of the mid-September Federal Reserve decision. The answer could shape the next move toward either $1.20 or a recovery back toward $1.55.
Key Facts
- XRP traded near $1.3179 on September 2, giving the token a market capitalization of about $82.69 billion and a fifth-place rank globally.
- The token rallied 71.8% in August from $0.988 to $1.698, but has since fallen 22.4% from that peak in less than two weeks.
- US spot XRP ETFs recorded $110.49 million of inflows in the week ended August 28 and added another $14.38 million on September 1.
- Ripple unlocked 1 billion XRP on September 1 and re-locked 700 million, leaving a net 300 million XRP, worth roughly $405 million near $1.35, outside escrow.
- XRP is down 6.01% over the past seven days but still up 22.56% over the last 30 days.
XRP Price
The central issue for XRP price is a familiar one: demand is improving, but supply remains a constant overhang. The token’s August breakout showed that institutional interest has strengthened, particularly through exchange-traded funds. Yet the market has struggled to sustain upside once price approaches major resistance, in part because monthly escrow releases and profit-taking continue to feed supply into the market narrative.
Technically, the $1.35 to $1.38 area has become the line to watch. That zone previously represented a dense trading shelf, with roughly 3.2 billion XRP having changed hands there. When an asset slips below such an area, market participants tend to treat it as a referendum on conviction: buyers need to quickly reclaim it, or sellers gain the upper hand. XRP has broken below the range intraday, but the more important signal remains whether it can close back above it on a sustained basis.
Who is affected most depends on entry point. Long-term holders remain in profit relative to the August low near $0.988, but traders who entered during the final phase of the rally between roughly $1.40 and $1.70 are now underwater. That creates a potential break-even selling wall on rebounds, particularly if XRP attempts to recover toward $1.55 without a stronger catalyst.
XRP is showing real institutional demand, but ETF inflows are still acting more like a floor than a launchpad.
Supply, ETFs and the chart setup
The supply side is receiving renewed attention after Ripple’s latest monthly escrow release. While the headline figure was 1 billion XRP, the net addition was smaller because 700 million tokens were placed back into escrow. Even so, the remaining 300 million XRP outside escrow represents a sizable pool of potential supply, especially when compared with a single day of ETF inflows totaling $14.38 million.
That does not mean an unlock equals an immediate sale. The monthly mechanism has been in place since 2017, and re-escrowing a large share of released tokens has been common. Still, the market tends to focus on the arithmetic. With about 31.28 billion XRP still locked in escrow after the September release, investors are reminded that structural supply will remain part of the XRP investment case for years.
On the chart, momentum is mixed rather than outright bearish. The 14-day RSI near 55.57 is neutral, suggesting the market is not deeply oversold after the correction. XRP also remains above its 20-day exponential moving average near $1.3055 and comfortably above its 50-day EMA near $1.2112. At the same time, the failed rally at $1.698 and the descending triangle structure point to unresolved downside risk if the $1.35 area is not recovered.
Implications for Investors
For crypto investors, XRP offers a case study in the difference between strong inflows and sustained price leadership. The ETF data is constructive: a $110.49 million weekly inflow is the best of 2026, and funds continued to attract capital even as price retreated. That behavior suggests institutional buyers are not abandoning exposure on weakness. It also supports the view that downside may be cushioned if ETF accumulation continues through September.
But investors should also recognize the limits of that support. Annualized net supply from escrow, depending on how much is re-locked each month, can still amount to billions of dollars in token value. Until ETF and spot demand consistently absorb that issuance, XRP may continue to experience sharp rallies followed by equally sharp retracements. In practical terms, that means volatility could remain elevated even if the long-term adoption story improves.
Macro conditions add another layer of risk. Rising Treasury yields and growing expectations for a September rate increase have pressured risk assets broadly, including digital tokens. XRP’s recent weakness has not been driven only by token-specific issues; it has also reflected a tougher environment for speculative assets. Investors should monitor US payrolls data, inflation readings on September 11, and the Federal Reserve decision on September 16, because a more hawkish outcome could weigh on crypto prices regardless of ETF momentum.
From a portfolio perspective, the watch points are clear. A decisive move back above $1.35 to $1.38 would improve the technical picture and could reopen a path toward $1.55, then $1.68. A failure to reclaim that band raises the probability of a deeper move toward $1.20, with the 50-day EMA near $1.2112 becoming an important secondary support level.
XRP enters the next phase with genuine institutional sponsorship but unresolved supply pressure. The next several sessions, and the policy calendar through September 16, are likely to determine whether the August rally resumes or gives way to a broader consolidation.