XRP breaks $1.13 resistance, whales buy, AI payments hit 1M

The cryptocurrency XRP broke through a key technical resistance level this week, reaching its highest price in two weeks as it was buoyed by a combination of whale accumulation, fresh investment in exchange-traded funds, and a significant milestone in network activity. The token climbed to approximately $1.16 on July 21 before pulling back to trade around $1.13-$1.14.

The price movement followed a breakout above a descending channel pattern, with analysts confirming the breach of the $1.13 resistance level as a positive technical signal. Market observers identified the next major resistance levels at $1.1866 and $1.30. Despite the recent gains, XRP remains below its 100-day and 200-day exponential moving averages, trading well under its all-time high of $3.84 set in January 2018.

Supporting the price recovery was data showing accumulation by large holders. Over the past five weeks, wallets holding between 100,000 and 100 million XRP increased their combined balances by 2.8%. In a contrasting trend, wallets holding less than 0.1 XRP saw their balances decline by 5.2% over the same period, suggesting smaller retail investors were reducing exposure while larger entities accumulated.