XRP Buyers Step In At $1.38 To Cushion Sharp Profit-Taking Slide

XRP (XRP) gave back gains after a high-volume selloff erased the latest breakout attempt, with buyers stepping back in near support around $1.38.

XRP Rejection At $1.42

XRP slid from $1.4138 to $1.3865 during the 24-hour stretch ending May 18, with profit-takers absorbing every push toward $1.42. The sharpest leg lower unfolded during the May 17 23:00 UTC session.

That single hour saw 144.3 million in volume drag price from the $1.42 area to lows near $1.378.

Buyers later defended $1.38, helping the token claw back part of the overnight slide before the session closed.

The pullback followed a stretch of optimism tied to advancing U.S. crypto legislation and stronger XRP ETF inflows earlier this month.

Also Read: Crypto Funds Bleed $1.07B As Iran Tensions End Six-Week Inflow Run

Triangle Compression Builds

Analysts are zeroing in on a symmetrical triangle that has squeezed XRP since February, when the token peaked near $1.60.

Each rally since then has printed a lower high. Each dip has carved a higher low. The pattern is now coiling toward its apex.

Crypto analyst Will Taylor recently called the $1.38 zone a defining setup for the token, citing maturing institutional rails at Ripple and the advancing Clarity Act.

Standard Chartered has separately forecast cumulative XRP ETF inflows of $4 billion to $8 billion through year-end if the bill clears the Senate, and J.P. Morgan's research desk now projects total XRP ETF inflows could reach $8.4 billion by December.

Volume on the May 17 leg lower spiked sharply, then faded, a pattern more consistent with profit-taking than panic liquidation. The bounce off $1.38 also kept XRP inside its broader range rather than below it.

XRP Range Recap

Traders are watching $1.38 as the line in the sand. A daily close beneath it would expose $1.30, a level that has absorbed every dip since February.

The $1.39 to $1.40 band is the immediate recovery zone. Reclaiming it would restore some upside structure heading into the apex.

The triangle itself has been narrowing for roughly three months, putting XRP near a decisive resolution.

Earlier in May, the token cleared $1.45 briefly on May 10 before fading, and ETF flows have remained a key swing factor, with weekly inflows of $34.2 million pushing cumulative U.S. spot XRP ETF demand past $1.32 billion.

The Senate Banking Committee's markup deadline before the May 21 Memorial Day recess now looms as the next major catalyst, with passage odds on Polymarket hovering near 62%.