XRP Faces Headwinds: Can It Reclaim $3 Before September Ends?

Ripple’s XRP has steadily declined since September 18, shedding roughly 7% of its value over the past week. 

The token’s struggles have raised questions about whether it can reclaim the highly coveted $3 price range before the month closes.

XRP Faces Selling Pressure as Key Holders Offload

According to Glassnode, XRP short-term holders (STHs), defined as those holding coins for 1–3 months, have steadily reduced their holdings over the past few days, adding to the downward pressure on the token. 

The HODL Waves metric, which tracks how long coins are held across different investor groups, shows a clear decline in STH holdings since September 21. As of this writing, XRP STHs control 10.72% of the token’s circulating supply, down 5% in three days.

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XRP HODL Waves. Source: Glassnode

This trend is significant because STHs often control a sizable portion of an asset’s circulating supply and are typically quick to respond to market conditions. Therefore, when they start to sell like this, an asset’s decline could worsen. This raises concerns about XRP’s ability to reclaim key price levels in the near term.

Further, XRP’s large investors have also gradually reduced their holdings this week, a trend that could further weigh on the market. According to Santiment, whales that hold between 10 million and 100 million tokens have sold 90 million XRP since September 19. 

XRP Supply Distribution. Source: Santiment

This sell-off by major holders could negatively impact market sentiment, as large-scale distributions signal a lack of confidence in near-term price stability. Such moves may trigger additional selling from smaller investors, putting further downward pressure on XRP’s price. 

Will XRP Hold or Fall? 

Technical indicators add to the cautious outlook. On the daily chart, XRP has slipped below its Ichimoku Cloud, signaling a likely bearish trend for the remainder of September. At press time, XRP’s price is positioned below the Leading Spans A and B, which form resistance above the token’s price at $2.93 and $3.04, respectively. 

The Ichimoku Cloud tracks the momentum of an asset’s market trends and identifies potential support/resistance levels. When an asset trades below this cloud, it reflects the bearish pressure in the market. It means demand stalls while selling pressure spikes.

For XRP, the dynamic resistance levels highlighted by this indicator pose a significant barrier to any near-term upward momentum. If buying pressure remains weak, XRP could plunge to $2.78, stalling its rally above $3.

XRP Price Analysis. Source: TradingView

However, if buying activity grows, XRP could witness a rebound, soar past the Leading Span A at $2.93, and attempt to push toward $2.99. A break above this level could open the door for a surge past the $3.04 Leading Span B resistance.