There has been growing discussion about a potential XRP breakout as the token has remained confined to a relatively narrow trading range since the early-February decline.
Each upward attempt has been met with immediate selling pressure, yet analysts remain optimistic that XRP will soon overcome key resistance levels and push toward new highs.
The Levels XRP Must Surpass
In May alone, the cross-border token launched three consecutive attempts to escape its consolidation. Although each attempt was quickly rejected, the positive sign was that XRP recorded progressively higher highs before each pullback.
On May 6, the price climbed from below $1.40 to $1.45 before retreating to its prior level. It continued to build momentum and rallied past $1.50 last Sunday before bears regained control. XRP held above $1.42, and Thursday’s move reached a two-month peak of $1.55 before facing resistance again.
Popular analyst EGRAG CRYPTO points to two major resistance levels that must be cleared for a sustained upward run. The first barrier is around $1.51, which capped gains in May. If that level is decisively broken, the next resistance sits at $1.82 — a price not seen since late January.
If bulls can push XRP convincingly above those thresholds, it would support the asset’s shift into a bullish Wave 5 expansion within an Elliott Wave framework. The analyst noted that the most difficult aspects of Elliott Wave analysis are not Wave 3 or Wave 5 themselves, but the false breakouts, deep retracements, emotional traps, and complex structures that can precede them.
“But once the correction is identified correctly: Wave 3 and Wave 5 become the easiest and most powerful moves to capitalize on,” EGRAG concluded.
Playing the Range for Now
Analyst Crypto Tony highlighted XRP’s range between $1.30 and $1.55, where the token has traded for the past three and a half months. He said he will consider increasing exposure once XRP breaks out in either direction, but until that occurs he will continue to trade within the established range.
Another analyst, CW, added that many short positions were liquidated during XRP’s Thursday advance, while the number of long positions remains relatively small. That dynamic, with fewer high-leverage longs, could create a more sustainable structure for a price rally.
Almost short positions in $XRP have been liquidated.
In addition, the size of long positions is not large. Most high-leverage positions in the $XRP futures market have been liquidated. pic.twitter.com/3WFZA0xMN3
— CW (@CW8900) May 15, 2026