XRP Needs 45% Rally to Reach $2 as ETFs Add Record $110M Despite Price Drop

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Aug 31, 2026
3min read
byMaya Bennett
forCoinpaper

XRP traded near $1.38 on Aug. 31 (down 1.8% in 24h but up ~31% for August) and would need roughly a 45% rally to reach $2, with immediate support at $1.35–$1.36 and critical resistance at $1.55–$1.60 before $1.70, $1.80 and $2 become relevant. U.S. spot XRP ETFs pulled in $110.49 million the week ending Aug. 28, lifting cumulative net inflows to about $1.66 billion and net assets to $1.44 billion, yet XRPL on-chain metrics are mixed (active addresses +650% over two weeks but total transactions -42.7% and payment volume -89.2%), creating a divergence between institutional flows and price that tempers near-term crypto adoption and price upside.

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XRP would need to rally roughly 45% from its current price to reach $2, leaving the psychological target possible after August’s explosive move but far from confirmed as the token enters September in a corrective phase.

XRP traded near $1.38 on Aug. 31, down about 1.8% over 24 hours after spending much of the second half of August between roughly $1.35 and $1.55. The token remains up around 31% for the month following a rally that briefly carried it toward $1.70.

The strongest argument for another advance is currently coming from institutional markets rather than the price chart.

U.S. spot XRP ETFs attracted $110.49 million during the week ending Aug. 28, their strongest weekly inflow of 2026. Cumulative net inflows reached approximately $1.66 billion, while the funds held about $1.44 billion in net assets.

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The immediate technical picture is less bullish than the ETF numbers.

Support is concentrated around $1.35–$1.36, with deeper support near $1.28–$1.30. Above the market, XRP first needs to reclaim roughly $1.41–$1.45 before confronting the more important $1.55–$1.60 resistance zone.

A break above that area would reopen the August high region around $1.70, followed by $1.80 and ultimately $2.

But from $1.38, reaching $2 requires a gain of approximately 44.9%. That is substantial, although XRP already demonstrated that scale of volatility during August: at one stage it gained 43.7% in seven days, outperforming every other top-10 cryptocurrency as Korean spot demand and ETF inflows accelerated.

The recent XRP rally was accompanied by unusually strong activity in South Korea, while ETF demand has continued even after XRP began retreating.

Record ETF Demand Is Diverging From XRP Price

The more unusual signal is the widening gap between price and institutional flows.

XRP ETFs recorded their strongest week of the year even as XRP fell toward $1.38. Bitwise led the latest week with about $59.95 million of inflows, while Franklin Templeton added approximately $28.70 million.

That does not guarantee a price increase, but it suggests institutional demand has not disappeared during the pullback.

The divergence is more useful than simply arguing that XRP must rise because ETF inflows are positive. ETFs can create additional spot demand, while price remains influenced by profit-taking, derivatives positioning, Bitcoin and broader macro conditions.

XRP’s earlier ETF recovery began after a relatively quiet start to August, showing how quickly institutional flows can change.

XRPL Activity Adds Momentum — but the Data Is Mixed

The bullish case also points to rapidly changing XRP Ledger activity.

Active addresses reportedly increased more than 650% during a two-week period, while receiving addresses briefly reached roughly 926,000.

Those numbers should not be interpreted as proof that every measure of XRPL adoption is expanding at the same pace.

More recent XRP Ledger activity shows the contradiction clearly. Transactions per ledger jumped 191.3%, but total transactions fell 42.7%, active accounts dropped 73.1% and total XRP payment volume declined 89.2%.

Ripple’s RLUSD is another separate growth signal. The stablecoin has expanded rapidly alongside institutional tokenization activity, with RLUSD growth adding another financial-infrastructure angle around the broader Ripple and XRPL ecosystem.

For XRP itself, however, the near-term test is simpler.

Holding $1.35 would preserve the structure of the August recovery. Reclaiming $1.45 would improve momentum, while a sustained break through $1.55–$1.60 would make $1.70 and $1.80 relevant again.

Only after those levels are cleared does $2 become the next meaningful price target rather than a headline prediction.

Source: cryptorank.io