XRP Rallies 30% Weekly as Bitcoin Short Squeeze Boosts Price Momentum

Published: 2026-08-20 17:59:32 |

XRP logged its strongest week in months, up about 30% for the week after a sharp two-day move. On Wednesday, XRP jumped 10.40%—its biggest single-day gain since early February—then extended the rally on Thursday to trade around $1.29. The surge is tied to Bitcoin’s break above $72,000, driven by a record short squeeze that triggered roughly $3 billion in liquidations over 24 hours. Macro support also entered the narrative: the U.S. Treasury said it will double long-bond buybacks starting September 9, to at least $4 billion per operation, with the announcement landing shortly before Trump met crypto executives from Coinbase, Ripple, and Robinhood. Technical signals for XRP are increasingly overheated. RSI spiked to 79.2 (deep in overbought territory), while ADX stayed above 29, suggesting the uptrend’s strength remains intact. However, ETF and derivatives data look less “fresh”: daily XRP ETF inflows fell from $5.81M to $2.35M as XRP outperformed Bitcoin, while Bitcoin ETFs pulled in about $517M. XRP futures open interest has already dropped more than 11% from the rally-day peak, and XRP is still ~17.5% below its 200-day trend. Traders should read this as a momentum-driven rally: XRP is leading, but sustained follow-through likely depends on whether buyers can keep pushing higher even if ETF inflows remain mixed.

Bullish

The headline driver is risk-on momentum: XRP rallied sharply after Bitcoin broke above $72,000, and the article links the move to a record short squeeze (forced liquidations). This type of cascade historically supports short-term upside as traders cover shorts and chase price. At the same time, the piece flags caution signals for sustainability. XRP’s RSI near 80 implies overbought conditions, while ETF inflows for XRP weakened even as the token outperformed—often a sign that the rally is not purely fundamental-driven. Falling XRP futures open interest (down ~11% from the peak) can also indicate that leverage is being reduced as the move matures. Putting both together: bullish for the immediate trend continuation (ADX > 29 and strong weekly performance), but expect higher odds of consolidation/pullbacks unless XRP can hold above key recent levels and demonstrate renewed demand. Long-term, confirmation would look like steadier ETF inflows and a rebuild of positive derivatives positioning, similar to prior periods when XRP sustained rallies beyond overbought readings.