As the cryptocurrency markets entered the summer with a strong bullish trend, XRP was one of the assets that benefited the most from this headwind. XRP, which posted a rise of more than 25% on a weekly basis, touched $3.54 to its highest close in five years. This rise stands out as not only a price-based bounce, but also a structural strengthening supported by institutional investor interest, derivative market volumes, and blockchain-based data flow.

Strong Rise in Spot Market: One Step Ahead of 2018 Peak

XRP broke through psychological resistance levels one by one, breaking through price movements that had long been stuck below $1. In particular, the sudden rise to $3.54 raised the expectation among investors of a return to the all-time high (ATH) of $3.84 recorded in 2018. This price action is not only based on technical analysis; it also shows that market participants are focused on new expectations.

The nearly doubling of trading volume in the recent upswing suggests that the price is not just volumeless pump action; it is part of a trend in which corporate and individual engagement are in common. It is especially noteworthy that Asia-based investors are turning to XRP in their liquidity flows.

$70 Million Whale Transfer: Profit Sale or Market Manipulation?

A large on-chain movement detected by Whale Alert on July 19 entered the radar of XRP traders. The transfer of XRP 20.5 million (about $70 million) from an unknown wallet to Coinbase was interpreted as a signal of a possible profit sale. While selling pressure has historically followed large-scale transfers, this time there has been no serious correction in the XRP price. This situation shows how high the absorbing power of the market and investor confidence are.

In the days following the transfer, buy orders were observed to intensify on exchanges such as Binance, Kraken and Bitstamp. This reveals that investors are considering a possible fall as an opportunity and that the whale effect remains limited.

Institutional Rally in the Futures Market: $11 Billion Vacancy

XRP has achieved historical momentum not only in the spot market, but also in the derivatives market. According to CoinGlass data, the total volume of open positions in XRP futures exceeded $11 billion, breaking a record. That figure is well above the $8 billion peak seen parallel to Donald Trump's election campaign in January 2025.

This open position volume means that approximately 3.1 billion XRP tokens are traded leveraged. This suggests that both individual and institutional investors are positioning their price expectations upwards. In particular, while the Bitget exchange maintained its lead with an open position of $2.2 billion, futures trading volume also reached $630 million in CME, one of the gateways to the world of traditional finance.

The growth in CME's XRP products proves that institutional investors are turning not only to Bitcoin and Ethereum, but also to alternative assets that are now being cleared of regulatory issues such as XRP. This change qualitatively pushes the position of XRP in the market upwards.

Ripple—Softening in SEC Lawsuit and XRP Ledger Updates Create Confidence

One of the other important dynamics behind this rise of XRP is that Ripple is entering the final phase of its legal fight with the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The results in favor of Ripple in recent court rulings have raised hopes that XRP may exit its “security” status. This is causing US-based investors to turn to the asset again.

In parallel, protocol updates on the XRP Ledger — particularly tokenization, smart contract expansions, and transaction speed optimizations — strengthen XRP's reach. The fact that it goes from being a transfer-only token to becoming available for DeFi and enterprise payments has the potential to make it one of the infrastructure tokens of the future.

Are Ethereum and Bitcoin in the Same League?

The rise of XRP in the derivatives markets signals that, beyond price movements, it has entered a new era in terms of market capitalization. XRP, which has been pushing Ethereum's data for some periods in terms of futures trading volume, could return to the “top three big digital assets” lane if it can sustain this momentum.

Especially in an environment of regulatory clarity, projects with fast and low-cost transfer systems such as XRP are expected to assume stronger roles in the global financial infrastructure. In the coming quarters, Ripple's more active engagement with central banks in digital currency pilot projects could support this scenario.