New York, Feb 25, 2026, 17:40 EST — After-hours
XRP jumped close to 10% in the last 24 hours, trading near $1.48 late Wednesday as crypto prices found some footing. The token, tied to Ripple, still sat around 59% under its July 2025 high, with prices fluctuating from about $1.34 to $1.48 during the session, according to CoinGecko data.
XRP’s been acting as a high-beta play, whipping around in sync with shifts in risk sentiment after getting knocked down in February. Traders right now are eyeing policy signals out of Washington, looking for anything that might shift the rules on where deep-pocketed investors can move into crypto.
Bitcoin bounced back earlier, lifted by bargain hunters stepping in after sharp declines, Investing.com reported. A recovery on Wall Street further supported risk sentiment. Ether joined the move higher, along with a handful of other big altcoins—so XRP’s earlier surge wasn’t out on its own.
Technical factors seemed to play a role in the day’s action. XRP bounced back after breaking above $1.37—a level traders had been watching. Volume surged to roughly 259 million units, over twice what’s been typical lately, according to an analysis from Investing.com. The report also pointed to Bitrue data showing spot purchase volume soaring 212% between Feb. 23 and Feb. 24, with buy orders outpacing sells by more than two to one.
“A sustained breakout above $1.40–$1.47 could trigger a recovery toward $1.60–$1.80 in the near term,” said Andri Fauzan Adziima, senior research lead at Bitrue, according to comments shared with TradingView News. He flagged the risk of a “supply squeeze”—that is, when available tokens dry up while demand ramps. TradingView
Policy’s the other key angle here. Ripple chief Brad Garlinghouse sees an 80% shot that the Digital Asset Market Clarity Act — which aims to clarify whether tokens fall to the SEC or CFTC — gets through by the end of April, according to Investing.com. That same story notes a March 1 White House deadline for negotiation talks, with stablecoin rules still unresolved.
For those trading XRP, the timeline matters—often well ahead of any law actually passing. The token’s known for strong reactions to regulatory chatter, and just talk of new bills can yank spot prices as swiftly as a technical breakdown on the chart.
Still, the rally’s footing looks shaky. Crypto prices have swung wildly thanks to political headlines and macro jitters. “We’re never more than one tweet away [from steep price changes],” Dmitry Tokarev, founder of security platform Bron, told Barron’s this week. Barron’s
Traders are eyeing XRP to see if it can stay above $1.40, keeping the squeeze on the top of Wednesday’s trading range. March 1 stands out as the next key date: that’s when the market-structure bill is set to reach its White House deadline, according to several desks.
