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$XRP traded slightly below $1 on Tuesday, Aug. 18, as rising whale transactions and derivatives activity failed to produce a sustained price recovery.
The token changed hands near $0.996, down 0.4% over 24 hours and 1.2% over seven days, according to market data. $XRP’s market capitalization stood near $62.4 billion, ranking it sixth among cryptocurrencies.
$XRP traded between approximately $0.989 and $1.01 during the latest 24 hour period. It remained 9.1% lower over 30 days and about 66.7% below its level one year earlier.
The token briefly recovered above $1 on Monday after opening near $0.994. However, buyers failed to maintain the rebound, returning the price below the psychological threshold on Tuesday.
$XRP price remains fragile below $1
The $XRP/USDT daily chart shows a broader downtrend from the July 2025 high of $3.65. The decline has produced lower highs and pushed $XRP into a narrow consolidation range around $1.
The $1 level has acted as support for much of the decline. Trading below it changes the immediate structure because recovering buyers must now reclaim the same level before challenging higher resistance.
An initial recovery would need to clear $1 to $1.05. Above that area, liquidity may sit between $1.16 and $1.18, although reaching those levels would require stronger volume and momentum.
Immediate support sits around $0.988, matching Tuesday’s intraday low. A daily close below that level would expose $0.95, followed by the wider area between $0.85 and $0.90.
The price recently steadied near $1 while large transfers to Binance declined. That reduction in exchange inflows did not produce a confirmed reversal.
Whale transactions rise without confirming accumulation
Crypto analyst Ali Martinez reported that $XRP Ledger transactions worth more than $1 million increased 280% within 24 hours. The total reportedly rose above 38 large transactions.
Martinez described the activity as evidence that “whales are back.” However, transaction counts alone do not establish whether large holders are buying, selling or moving tokens between wallets.
Large transactions can include exchange deposits, withdrawals, internal transfers and custody reorganizations. Identifying accumulation requires destination analysis, balance changes and exchange flow data.
The price remained below $1 during the transaction increase. That lack of an immediate price response weakens any claim that the activity was entirely driven by buying.
Separate CryptoQuant data showed that whale transfers to Binance had fallen to their lowest level since 2021. The three month average reportedly declined to approximately $61 million.
Lower exchange inflows can reduce potential selling pressure, but they do not guarantee demand. Tokens may also move through exchanges or addresses not covered by the dataset.
Exchange withdrawals and leverage send mixed signals
CryptoQuant contributor Amr Taha reported that Coinbase’s seven day net wallet count fell to minus 14,300 on Aug. 17. Binance and Crypto.com also recorded more withdrawing wallets than depositing wallets.
The figures measure wallet counts rather than the amount of $XRP withdrawn. One large deposit can outweigh many small withdrawals, making the indicator unsuitable as a direct measure of net token flows.
Coinbase reportedly represented 47.3% of the absolute wallet imbalance across the exchanges tracked by the analyst. That share shows where the activity was concentrated but does not reveal whether the withdrawn tokens entered self custody or another trading venue.
$XRP derivatives activity also increased. CryptoQuant analysis showed Binance open interest rising about 28.6% between Aug. 3 and Aug. 17.
Open interest measures outstanding derivatives positions and does not distinguish longs from shorts. Rising leverage while the spot price remains weak can increase the size of liquidations when the market eventually breaks from its range.
In related coverage, derivatives positioning rebuilt while aggressive selling remained dominant. Funding rates, cumulative volume delta and long to short ratios remain necessary for assessing directional positioning.
Technical indicators remain bearish
The Awesome Oscillator stood near minus 0.0630 on the daily chart. The negative reading shows bearish momentum remains active, although it is less extreme than during previous stages of the selloff.
The bull and bear power indicator was also negative at approximately minus 0.0377. This points to limited buying pressure and supports the current bearish consolidation structure.
Neither indicator confirms that $XRP has reached a bottom. Momentum could improve if the price reclaims $1 and the oscillator moves toward positive territory.
Claims of targets between $15 and $17 would require gains exceeding 1,400% from the current price. Such forecasts remain speculative and are not supported by the present daily momentum readings.
The same applies to forecasts calling for a decline into the $0.65 to $0.85 range. Those levels are possible technical scenarios rather than confirmed destinations.
Bridge remains halted following verification exploit
The tx project said attackers stole 198,715.88 $XRP from its bridge reserve on Aug. 9. The bridge connected the tx blockchain with the $XRP Ledger.
According to the project’s update, its software accepted transactions that had not delivered $XRP to the correct bridge address. Relayers then approved unbacked balances that attackers redeemed for genuine $XRP.
The vulnerability affected the bridge’s verification logic, not the $XRP Ledger itself. The bridge remains halted while the team reviews remedies and security changes.
As crypto.news reported, the stolen $XRP was converted and routed through privacy infrastructure, complicating recovery efforts. The project also filed a complaint with the FBI.
Separately, a South Korean regional bank adopted Ripple’s payments service on Aug. 18. The announcement did not say $XRP would be used for those transfers, so the agreement should not be treated as direct demand for the token.
$XRP must reclaim $1 on a daily closing basis to reduce immediate downside pressure. A break above $1.05 would improve the short term setup, while another rejection could return attention to $0.95 and $0.90.
Source: cryptonews.net