XRP recorded its first closing price above $1.544 since early February. Large-scale accumulation by whale wallets and a surge in derivatives market open interest are adding momentum to the rally, while also increasing volatility risk during overheated conditions.
Key points
XRP successfully closed the day above the $1.544 upper level on September 22, reclaiming the breakout attempts it had failed four times since the beginning of 2026.
Binance XRP futures open interest has reached $600 million, and whales have accumulated an additional $2.2 billion worth of XRP over the past four days.
As leverage expands and concentration into certain whale wallets intensifies, there are also warnings that volatility could be amplified if the market overheats.
XRP breaks above the upper end of resistance for the first time in seven months
XRP finally broke upward through a key resistance level that had been repeatedly capped on a daily closing basis since early February. It closed above $1.544 on September 22, reclaiming a level that it had attempted four times this year but failed to hold.
This breakout came after a retrial in August. In particular, on August 22 the same supply zone was tested again, but at the time it failed to settle on a closing basis, breaking the upward trend.
Citing data from on-chain analytics firm CryptoQuant, an analyst named Darkfost said that Binance’s XRP futures open interest surged to $600 million. This is the highest level since January and far exceeds the 180-day moving average of $445 million, which is interpreted as a sign that speculative positioning increased significantly behind the price rally.
Also to watch: XRP rises to $1.59… Binance holdings hit the highest level since June
“Ali Martinez” spots whale accumulation
On-chain analyst **Ali Martinez** said that large holders (whales) bought roughly $2.2 billion worth of XRP over four days. On-chain analytics firm **Santiment** reported that as XRP broke above $1.60, there were 1,917 whale trades of at least $100,000 in size. During the same period, the number of newly created XRP wallets was also confirmed at 3,647.
Institutional access is also a pillar of the story. Asset manager **Bitwise** filed amended registration documents for a spot XRP exchange-traded fund (ETF) on September 18, and according to data provider SoSoValue, capital inflows into the spot XRP ETF continued throughout September.
Meanwhile, as Bitcoin (BTC) rose above $82,800, investor sentiment across altcoins also improved. However, as leveraged positions build up quickly in the derivatives market, concerns are growing that one-sided positioning could trigger sudden liquidations during a pullback. Open interest supports the breakout as long as demand holds, but it’s a double-edged sword—if traders who are overly positioned against the direction later turn against the price move, liquidation could accelerate.
This XRP breakout is the first time it has pushed through a February resistance zone that had repeatedly blocked it over daily closing periods for seven months. As such, the September 22 closing is considered a technically meaningful milestone. At the same time, it will be a key gauge to see whether the reclaimed resistance line will act as a core support level during future pullbacks—and how much of this upswing XRP can defend.
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