TLDR
- XRP exchange reserves jumped by 1.2 billion tokens in one day, led by Binance’s 610 million inflow
- Price broke above $3 despite heavy exchange inflows, defying typical bearish patterns
- CME futures open interest surged 74% month-over-month showing institutional demand
- Technical indicators point to bullish breakout with $4.50 as potential target
- Weekend trading saw cascading buy pressure with 3 million XRP market buy triggering momentum
XRP experienced dramatic market movements as exchange reserves surged by over 1.2 billion tokens in a single day on September 1. Binance led the inflows with 610 million XRP, expanding its reserves from 2.928 billion to 3.538 billion tokens.
Bithumb followed with substantial increases, boosting holdings to 2.519 billion from 1.647 billion XRP. Bybit nearly doubled its supply to 380 million from 188 million tokens.
OKX showed the most dramatic percentage increase, jumping to 233 million from just 112,000 XRP tokens. The timing of these inflows coincided with XRP testing critical support at $2.73.
Despite typically bearish implications of rising exchange reserves, XRP price moved higher. The token climbed above $3 on Wednesday following softer US Producer Price Index data, gaining 8.43% for the month.
Technical indicators suggested the inflows may not have created immediate selling pressure. Relative strength index and MACD showed easing downside momentum at the time of the reserve spike.
Weekend trading brought sudden buy-side pressure that caught traders off guard. A 3 million XRP market buy on Binance futures triggered cascading movement, adding over 10 million XRP in net buy pressure within 15 minutes.
Coinbase reported 8 million net XRP purchases against thin liquidity books on Sunday. Market data showed XRP’s return to $3 came on net inflows of $23.9 million against $6.9 billion total trading volume.
The modest 0.7% price increase on heavy inflows suggested strong liquidity absorption. This pattern indicated aggressive buying met with deep order books that limited immediate upside.
Institutional Interest Growing
Institutional demand for XRP futures strengthened with CME open interest surging 74% month-over-month to 386 million XRP. Broader futures demand climbed 5% to 2.69 billion XRP worth $7.91 billion.
Monthly futures traded at a 7% premium to spot prices, signaling balanced leverage conditions. This premium level suggested neither excessive bullish nor bearish positioning among derivatives traders.
XRP underperformed compared to other altcoins that posted double-digit gains in August. The relative weakness occurred despite ongoing ETF speculation maintaining positive sentiment.
Market analyst CasiTrades identified $3 as the pivotal breakout level after months of consolidation. The cryptocurrency rallied strongly in July before entering tight range trading between $2.80 and $3.05.
🚀Consolidation Ends, Momentum Builds: XRP Targets $4.50 🚀$XRP is heating up! 🔥It has broken out of its months-long consolidation, and confirmation of the breakout is occurring with the $3 test now in play.
Looking at the daily timeframe, price has been battling this level… pic.twitter.com/UD06AoyWlW
— CasiTrades 🔥 (@CasiTrades) September 10, 2025
Technical Setup Points Higher
Recent sessions showed higher intraday lows and repeated resistance tests near $3, indicating base-building activity. A daily close above $3.05 would trigger breakout confirmation toward $3.20 and $3.30 targets.
The $3 mark serves as the dividing line between bullish continuation and renewed weakness. A close below $2.80 would negate the positive setup and target the $2.50 demand zone.
Relative strength index moved back above 55 after forming higher lows through late August. The momentum pickup supports the breakout narrative as long as RSI stays above 50.
Moving Average Convergence Divergence approached alignment near the zero line with green histogram bars emerging. A bull crossover above zero would confirm continuation above $3.05.
Accumulation and distribution readings remained elevated since mid-July, suggesting steady buying interest. The stability indicates sideways trading represented accumulation rather than distribution patterns.
Fibonacci analysis places $3.00 at the .382 retracement level, making it major support for the breakout attempt. Resistance sits near $3.25 at the .236 level, then $3.27 as secondary resistance.
A clear break through these areas opens the path to $3.66, expected as a retest zone before potential advancement toward the $4.50 target level.