Ripple (XRP) shows subtle upside strength, trading above $1.40 at the time of writing on Tuesday. The remittance token is rising alongside the broader cryptocurrency market, as reflected by Bitcoin (BTC) reclaiming $70,000 as immediate support and Ethereum (ETH) holding above $2,000.
Sentiment improved across global markets after United States (US) President Donald Trump said the Iran war could be over soon. Crypto prices steadied their rebound across the board, as the West Texas Intermediate (WTI) Crude Oil prices tumbled from a $113 high on Monday to approximately $87 at the time of writing.
Addresses holding between 10 million and 100 million XRP appear unbothered by price fluctuations, macroeconomic uncertainty, and geopolitical tensions, according to Santiment’s data. The Supply Distribution metric shows that this cohort of whales holds 16.59% of XRP’s total supply.
It is worth noting that holdings have remained between 17.08%, recorded on December 11, and 16.27%, as seen on March 1, underscoring the whales’ resolve not to sell XRP. Looking back, the same cohort aggressively accumulated the remittance token from August to December, before stabilising in January, February and March.
A steady increase in the whales’ holdings suggests that investors are confident in XRP’s potential to rally and are willing to lean into risk.
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Meanwhile, retail interest in XRP remains on the back foot despite the futures Open Interest (OI) rising slightly to $2.32 billion on Tuesday, from $2.25 billion the previous day.
In contrast, XRP derivatives experienced an OI surge to $10.94 billion in July, coinciding with the price hitting a record high of $3.66. With OI down nearly 80% from its historical high, retail remains skeptical that XRP can sustain its recovery.

XRP is trading above the $1.40 pivotal threshold, as bulls double down on their efforts to steady recovery. The Moving Average Convergence Divergence (MACD) indicator remains above the signal line on the daily chart while the green histogram bars expand, prompting investors to increase their risk exposure. Moreover, the Relative Strength Index (RSI) at 47 on the same chart is rising, showing easing bearish momentum. An extended increase in the RSI above the 50 midline would reinforce the bullish outlook, increasing the odds of a steady rebound.
Still, the near-term bias remains bearish, with the XRP price entrenched below a descending resistance trendline. XRP also holds below a compressed stack of 50-day, 100-day and 200-day Exponential Moving Averages (EMAs), all of which hover between roughly $1.53 and $1.99.
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Initial support is seen at the $1.36 daily low area, followed by the weekly open at $1.34, where a break would pave the way toward deeper downside extension. On the upside, the $1.45 zone acts as immediate resistance from recent closing highs, ahead of the 50-day EMA at $1.53 and the 100-day EMA at $1.74.
Higher Open Interest is associated with higher liquidity and new capital inflow to the market. This is considered the equivalent of increase in efficiency and the ongoing trend continues. When Open Interest decreases, it is considered a sign of liquidation in the market, investors are leaving and the overall demand for an asset is on a decline, fueling a bearish sentiment among investors.
Funding fees bridge the difference between spot prices and prices of futures contracts of an asset by increasing liquidation risks faced by traders. A consistently high and positive funding rate implies there is a bullish sentiment among market participants and there is an expectation of a price hike. A consistently negative funding rate for an asset implies a bearish sentiment, indicating that traders expect the cryptocurrency’s price to fall and a bearish trend reversal is likely to occur.
(The technical analysis of this story was written with the help of an AI tool.)