New York, March 1, 2026, 12:13 EST — Market closed
- XRP clawed back roughly 3% to trade near $1.37 over the weekend, recovering some ground after tumbling sharply the day before.
- Crypto prices whipped around as investors tried to gauge fallout from U.S. strikes on Iran, with concerns about a broader Middle East conflict rattling the market.
- Eyes are on XRP as it hovers near $1.30, with traders looking for a break above $1.36 before U.S. markets open Monday.
XRP bounced roughly 3% Sunday, landing at $1.37. The token had swung between $1.32 and $1.43 earlier in the weekend, LSEG data show.
Traders are now factoring in heightened geopolitical risk, following U.S. President Donald Trump’s announcement that the United States has launched “major combat operations” in Iran. The remarks have raised concerns about more turmoil, with Wall Street set to reopen Monday. Investing.com
Bitcoin clawed back roughly 1.8% to $66,180. Ether fared better, rising about 3.8% and landing at $1,972. The move higher came as large-cap crypto bounced following Saturday’s initial selloff.
Still, crypto hasn’t offered much shelter during recent upheavals. Reuters pointed out that bitcoin dropped roughly 2% on Saturday—down over 25% in just two months.
Traders watching XRP saw the token slide 9.1%—from $1.42 to $1.30—after it slipped under the $1.36 support level, according to CryptoNews.net, which referenced CoinDesk. That $1.36 area tends to be where chart-readers look for signs of renewed demand.
Ripple is looking to change the focus from price, aiming instead for a wider spread of funding among XRP Ledger developers. The payments company has introduced a new FinTech Builder Programme as part of this push, DL News reports.
Strategists are watching to see just how markets absorb the Iran news once liquidity is back. “The strike raises geopolitical risk premia as markets head into Monday’s open,” said Christopher Wong, strategist at OCBC in Singapore. Reuters
The downside risk hasn’t disappeared. Daniel Shapiro, who previously handled Middle East policy at the Pentagon, cautioned that certain Iranian weapons “will get through.” He described the strikes as “a major gamble”—just the sort of uncertainty that tends to make leverage skittish in risk assets. Investing.com
It’s not just geopolitics on the radar—traders are staring down a packed macro calendar. Global PMI surveys and U.S. payrolls will set the tone for the week, according to S&P Global Market Intelligence, with U.S. manufacturing data landing Monday, March 2.
XRP is facing a key question: Can it stay above $1.36 as U.S. markets come back online? The $1.30 level remains the first number out of most traders’ mouths. Looking ahead, the market is bracing for the next big event—the U.S. February jobs report, which drops Friday, March 6 at 8:30 a.m. ET, just before the Federal Reserve’s March 17-18 policy meeting.
