- XRP slips toward $2.70 as whales and institutions trigger heavy selling.
- Ripple’s technological progress contrasts with near-term bearish pressure.
- Fed caution and rising yields have dampened crypto market sentiment.
Last week brought turbulence for XRP as the token struggled to hold key levels amid a weakening crypto market.
Once viewed as one of the strongest performers of 2025, XRP now faces renewed pressure, leaving traders to wonder whether the recent slide is a temporary setback or the start of a deeper decline.
Bearish pressure mounts below $3
XRP failed to sustain levels above $3.00 — a psychological threshold traders had hoped would act as a springboard for further gains.
Heavy liquidations across the broader market, combined with profit-taking near resistance, pushed the token down toward the $2.80 zone.
It slipped further, hitting a low of $2.75 after a one-day drop of about 6%, coinciding with Bitcoin falling below $109,000 and triggering a chain reaction across altcoins, including Ethereum, which fell roughly 8% to $3,800.
Institutional and whale activity in focus
Behind the price decline was a wave of institutional selling and large whale movements that rattled sentiment.
Approximately $277 million worth of XRP changed hands in a short span, with reports indicating whales moved nearly 160 million tokens — worth close to half a billion dollars — in mid-September.
Those transfers added selling pressure, wiping nearly $19 billion from XRP’s market capitalization in a week and disrupting the momentum that had pushed it above $3 earlier in the month.
Broader economic headwinds add pressure
XRP’s challenges are not purely internal.
Wider economic factors have also contributed to the token’s decline.
Comments from Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell warning that inflation remains a concern and that significant rate cuts are unlikely have curbed risk appetite.
Rising Treasury yields have made investors more cautious, drawing attention away from risk assets like cryptocurrencies.
Against this backdrop, even promising developments within the Ripple ecosystem have struggled to translate into sustained price gains.
Ripple has been active with new initiatives, including the launch of the RLUSD stablecoin, integration of an Ethereum-compatible sidechain, and steady growth in XRP Ledger wallets, which now exceed seven million.
While these projects strengthen the network’s fundamentals, they have not offset the broader market pessimism.
Eyes on the $2.70 support
For now, attention is on whether XRP can hold above the $2.75 threshold, with $2.70 emerging as the next critical support level.
From a technical perspective, the token is trading below its 30-day moving average of $2.93, indicating sellers still hold the upper hand.
The Relative Strength Index (RSI) has fallen below 38, nearing oversold territory, while the MACD has turned bearish, reinforcing downward momentum.
A deeper decline could extend losses, but a bounce from current levels might signal selling exhaustion and open the door for a short-term recovery.
The next moves will likely depend on Bitcoin’s performance, with $23 billion worth of options set to expire and potentially add volatility across the crypto sector.
If Bitcoin stabilizes, XRP may find room to reclaim the $3 level and recover momentum. If not, a drop toward $2.70 or lower remains a distinct possibility.