XRP is trading around $1.50, but the price still cannot reclaim the late-August peak near $1.70.
US spot XRP ETFs attracted about $307.9 million in Q3, while cumulative inflows climbed close to $1.8 billion. XRP itself gained more than 45% across Q3.
The problem is not an absence of buyers. Fresh demand is being met by enough existing supply to stop the token from repricing higher.
The next test is whether buyers can overwhelm sellers between roughly $1.54 and $1.70.
ETF demand is real but it is not controlling price
US spot XRP ETFs absorbed $307.9 million in Q3, including roughly $121.4 million in September, according to SoSoValue data.
Bloomberg Intelligence analyst James Seyffart previously described XRP ETF flows as “surprisingly resilient” in comments reported by Decrypt, despite the token’s relatively weak price response.
That contrast has persisted. XRP entered October around $1.49 to $1.50 even after repeated periods of positive ETF flows.
The marginal bid is becoming less uniform. XRP ETFs recorded no net flow on September 30 after stronger buying earlier in the month.
That does not break the institutional-demand thesis. It shows ETF demand alone is not setting the clearing price.
New fund buyers can accumulate while another cohort sells into the same rallies.
Profitable holders may be supplying every rally
The harder question is who sits on the other side of those ETF purchases.
There is no clean dataset proving that a specific class of XRP holders is responsible. But the broader altcoin market is showing signs consistent with profit-taking after a powerful third quarter.
Nexo Dispatch analyst Iliya Kalchev told The Block that “some profit-taking pressure is emerging,” pointing to seven-day altcoin inflow transactions to exchanges reaching their highest level since October 2025.
CryptoQuant separately said the rise in altcoin exchange deposits was broad rather than driven by only a small number of large wallets.
Moving tokens onto exchanges does not guarantee they will be sold, but it increases potential sell-side liquidity.
That backdrop matters for XRP after a quarterly gain exceeding 45%. More holders are sitting on profits, so moves towards previous highs can become opportunities to realise gains.
The mechanism is simple, as ETF buyers may be absorbing supply without yet exhausting it. That can support price without producing the breakout bulls expect.
XRP now has to absorb the $1.54 to $1.70 zone
The next test is measurable, as Crypto analyst Ali Martinez said in comments carried by Yahoo Finance that he is waiting for “an hourly close above $1.54” to confirm a breakout. He said that move could open the door to roughly a 10% advance towards $1.70.
The level matters because XRP has repeatedly struggled to maintain rallies through the mid-$1.50s, while late-September attempts above $1.60 also faded. The August swing high near $1.70 represents the larger hurdle.
A sustained move through that zone would suggest new demand is finally absorbing enough existing supply to change market structure.
Failure would reinforce the opposite interpretation: buyers are present, but sellers remain willing to meet them whenever price strength returns.
Near-term support also matters. XRP has recently traded around $1.48 to $1.50, making that area the first line bulls need to defend if another breakout attempt fails.
XRP’s inability to revisit $1.70 therefore does not mean institutional demand has disappeared, but raises an important question about buyers who can keep absorb supply until willing sellers become scarce.
The post XRP gained 45% and ETFs keep buying: who is selling every move towards $1.70 appeared first on Invezz
