XRP's Split Personality: Record Institutional Demand Meets a Hawkish Fed Headwind

XRP drops to $1.36, testing critical support, while spot ETFs see record weekly inflows and Ripple launches new Wall Street services.

The gap between where XRP is heading and where it currently trades has rarely been wider. Spot ETFs are absorbing tokens at a record clip, Ripple is bolting on new Wall Street infrastructure, and a Nasdaq listing looms on the horizon — yet the token itself is sliding toward a critical technical floor, caught in the crossfire of Federal Reserve rhetoric and leveraged positioning unwinds.

At 1.36 US-Dollar, XRP is down 2.6 percent on the day and roughly 11 percent on the week, having given back a chunk of the 28 percent monthly gain that preceded this pullback. The retreat follows a sharp rally from around 0.988 US-Dollar to a local high near 1.698 US-Dollar — a move of 71.8 percent — after which the token corrected by roughly a fifth and now finds itself testing the 1.35 to 1.38 US-Dollar zone, an area where market observers estimate around 3.2 billion XRP changed hands.

That band is widely viewed as a critical line of defense. Above it, resistance levels sit at 1.60, 1.68, 1.86 and eventually 2.19 US-Dollar. Relative to its moving averages, XRP still trades about 19 percent above the 50-day mean of 1.14 US-Dollar and 6.7 percent above the 200-day average of 1.27 US-Dollar.

Fed Hawks and Leveraged Positioning Weigh on Price

The immediate catalyst for the pullback came from Jackson Hole, where Federal Reserve official Kevin Warsh delivered hawkish remarks that rippled across the broader crypto complex late last week. The fallout was amplified on derivatives markets: exchanges recorded over 105 million US-Dollar in liquidations of leveraged futures positions within a single hour, with longs bearing the brunt of the damage.

Sentiment among speculative traders has turned noticeably more cautious. Open interest on XRP futures at venues like the CME jumped nearly 40 percent in a week, while leveraged funds nearly doubled their net short position to roughly 115.7 million XRP — a sign that sophisticated money is hedging against further downside even as the medium-term news flow remains constructive.

ETF Demand Tells a Different Story

The institutional picture, however, is strikingly at odds with the spot market's recent weakness. Spot XRP ETFs recorded net inflows of approximately 110.49 million US-Dollar in the week through August 28 — the strongest weekly showing since December 2025, led by Bitwise. Total assets across XRP funds have swelled to roughly 1.44 billion US-Dollar, having nearly tripled within days even as the token price declined.

That divergence suggests institutional buyers are using the dip to build positions rather than chasing momentum. Whether that accumulation eventually drags the price higher or the correction continues remains the central question hanging over the token.

Ripple's Wall Street Build-Out Accelerates

Behind the scenes, Ripple is pressing ahead with its institutional expansion. On Thursday, Ripple Prime launched a delta-one desk offering total-return swaps on US equities, indices and digital assets, aimed at hedge funds and asset managers. The unit carries regulatory net capital exceeding one billion US-Dollar, underpinned by a 275 million US-Dollar bond placement in August and a 200 million US-Dollar credit facility from Neuberger Specialty Finance. XRP has served as collateral in the prime business since March.

The ecosystem's stablecoin is also scaling: RLUSD, issued on both the XRP Ledger and Ethereum, has pushed its total supply past two billion US-Dollar, with 44 percent circulating on the XRP Ledger and 56 percent on Ethereum. Multiple double-digit million-dollar minting rounds have occurred in recent days alone.

A Nasdaq Debut and a Senate Clock

Institutional attention could grow further through Evernorth, which — after SEC clearance of its S-4 registration form — plans to list on the Nasdaq under the ticker XRPN, pending a shareholder vote on September 30. The company reports holding approximately 473 million XRP.

On the regulatory front, the CLARITY Act remains the key piece of legislation to watch in the US Senate, though further action is not expected until after September 14. Until then, the near-term path for XRP will likely be shaped by the interplay of Fed commentary, token unlocks across the crypto market, and whether the 1.35 US-Dollar support zone holds. The token's 52-week high of 3.18 US-Dollar from last September now sits 57 percent above the current price, while year-to-date losses stand at 26 percent — a reminder of just how far the asset has traveled, and how much ground remains to be recovered.