NEW YORK, March 28, 2026, 2:03 PM EDT
XRP hovered close to $1.35 Saturday, rising 1.6% in the last 24 hours and putting its market capitalization around $82.5 billion. Even so, the Ripple-affiliated coin slipped 6.3% over the past week, trailing the broader crypto space, which dropped 4.2% during that period.
XRP’s slide is drawing attention as traders back off riskier bets once more. Bitcoin hovered near $66,808, with ether last at $2,019. Jitters over conflict, pricier oil, and renewed talk of U.S. rate hikes hit everything from stocks to crypto.
XRP’s second headache: its usual tailwinds — steady fund inflows and optimism for U.S. regulatory clarity — have faded. On Thursday, spot XRP ETFs logged zero net flows. Over at Ripple, CEO Brad Garlinghouse told Fox Business on Friday that the Digital Asset Market Clarity Act would likely miss its end-April timetable: “We’re going to get there,” he said, but progress is slower than hoped. FXStreet
This week wasn’t kind to XRP. The token peaked at $1.4651 on March 23, but then slumped four sessions in a row and clawed back just 1.79% Saturday. A late selloff knocked XRP below the crucial $1.36 support, according to CoinDesk.
Leverage appears to be creeping in as the market weakens. FXStreet noted open interest climbed to $2.65 billion by Friday, up from $2.33 billion at the start of the week. The firm flagged initial support at $1.33 and $1.30, with resistance showing up at $1.39 and $1.48.
“There are very few risk-off assets,” Rajeev De Mello, chief investment officer at GAMA Asset Management, said to Reuters this week. State Street strategist Marvin Loh, quoted by Reuters as well, noted that more investors are shifting their positions ahead of the weekend—an indication that conviction in the market is still shaky. Reuters
A less vocal Washington is shifting the mood, and that’s key — regulation has kept crypto afloat through 2026’s rougher patches. On March 17, both the SEC and CFTC outlined how federal rules touch crypto assets, stressing most tokens don’t count as securities. Citi’s Alex Saunders, though, warned the “window of opportunity” for lawmaking—legislation that could boost adoption and ETF inflows—is closing fast. SEC
XRP stands apart from much of crypto, shaped by Ripple’s push to market it as a quick, low-cost cross-border transfer solution. In 2023, a judge found XRP’s exchange sales legal, though institutional deals by Ripple had crossed securities lines. Back in September, Reuters said looming SEC rule tweaks could clear the way for spot ETFs beyond just bitcoin and ether, with Solana and XRP flagged as leading contenders.
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