The Crypto Basic

Upbit, South Korea’s largest exchange, has continued to challenge Binance for XRP market share, as its XRP volume spikes 289% in an hour. 

While the XRP price sees renewed bearish pressure amid a 2.83% decline today, trade volume has spiked in the last hour, indicating that the recent price crash receives support from increased market participation in the form of heightened selling pressure.

Interestingly, South Korea’s Upbit appears to be leading the charge surrounding XRP’s recent volume spike, recording a 289% increase in XRP trade volume within an hour. This has brought its 1-hour volume to $10.41 million, edging close to Binance’s $12.82 million.

Key Points

• The market correction, which has led to a 2.83% drop in XRP’s price, comes alongside heightened trade volume on exchanges.
• Upbit, South Korea’s largest exchange, seems to be leading the charge, with XRP’s trade volume on the exchange spiking 289% in one hour.
• The spike in XRP’s volume on Upbit has pushed the figure to $10.41 million in the last hour, closing in on Binance’s $12.82 million. 
• This volume spike cuts across all major exchanges, including a 128% rise on Binance, a 155% increase on Coinbase, and an 87% spike on Bybit.

XRP Volume Spikes Amid Renewed Bearishness

Notably, XRP engineered a rebound push alongside the rest of the crypto market earlier this month, leveraging the panic from the Iran conflict that escalated on Feb. 28 to post impressive gains. XRP rose nearly 26% from a low of $1.27 on Feb. 28 to a peak of $1.6 by March 17.

However, the resistance at $1.6 resulted in a pullback, as the rest of the market lost momentum. This pullback has endured until now, threatening to push XRP into the red in March. The correction now appears to be gaining steam, and the latest renewed bearish push has coincided with volume spikes on centralized exchanges.

Specifically, data from market resource Coinglass confirms that XRP has recorded volume spikes across all major exchanges over the past hour amid a 2.83% price decline today. Specifically, Binance’s volume has risen 128.57% within the hour, while Coinbase has recorded a 155.96% spike. Moreover, Bybit currently sees an 87.23% increase.

Upbit Leads in XRP Volume Growth

While other exchanges have recorded considerable XRP volume spikes, Upbit leads in this metric. Notably, the Korean exchange boasts a 289.52% increase in XRP trade volume over the last hour.

This surge has pushed XRP’s volume on Upbit from just $2.67 million to $10.41 million within the hour. With the spike, Upbit has begun closing in on Binance in terms of short-term XRP volume, now requiring an additional 23% increase to overtake Binance’s $12.82 million volume.

Meanwhile, despite the uniform growth, other exchanges have continued to see significantly lower figures than Upbit and Binance. Specifically, Coinbase has recorded a $5.28 million in XRP trade volume over the last hour, while Bybit has seen $1.95 million in the same timeframe.

Market data shows that, amid the ongoing downturn, XRP is on the verge of retesting a major confluence zone at the intersection of three key levels.

The current market turbulence has continued to cap XRP’s upside potential over the past six months. During this period, the crypto asset has seen five consecutive monthly losses, losing $85 billion worth of market valuation.

With the persistent decline showing no signs of slowing down, data shows that XRP may now be approaching an important confluence zone at the intersection of three key levels. How XRP behaves in this area will determine whether it continues the downtrend or mounts a recovery effort.

Key Points

• XRP has dropped 50% since October 2025 to the current price of $1.4, having lost $85 billion worth of market valuation.
• Amid the downturn, XRP may now be approaching a major confluence zone that could determine its next price direction.
• This confluence zone is important because it features the lower band of a falling channel, the $1 psychological support, and a key support zone.
• If XRP retests and bounces back above this confluence zone, the rebound could target the $2 price area.

XRP’s Downward Price Action

Anonymous market commentator, The Signalyst, highlighted this structure in one of his recent analyses, as XRP struggles to recover. Notably, XRP remains one of the biggest victims of the downtrend that has plagued the broader market since Q4 2025.

Within this period, XRP has dropped more than 51% from the October 2025 price of $2.84 and 61% from the July 2025 peak of $3.6. Despite a recovery push that began earlier this month, bears remain in control, having reduced XRP’s March 2025 gains to 0.25% at press time, as the crypto token trades for $1.38. 

XRP Confluence Zone

Amid this downward price action, The Signalyst stressed in his latest analysis that XRP’s position has been “overall bearish.” However, he called attention to a confluence zone sitting at lower support levels as an important area that could mark a decisive turnaround for XRP. 

According to him, this zone is important for XRP’s price action because it features an intersection between the lower trendline of a multi-month falling channel, the $1 psychological level, and a major blue zone that XRP flipped to support during the November 2024 rally.

Notably, the intersection of these three important levels at the confluence zone makes it a “powerful reaction” area that traders should watch out for, according to the market analyst.

The Three Important Levels

For context, the multi-month falling channel started forming after XRP collapsed from the $3.6 peak in July 2025. From here, the downturn led to lower highs and lower lows, resulting in the falling channel. The confluence zone lies around the lower support trendline of this channel.

Meanwhile, the confluence zone also rests around the $1 psychological level, which XRP breached during the rally in November 2024. Since then, XRP has not broken below this level, as each retest close to it has always marked a strong defensive area, including the drop to $1.1 in early February.

XRP also features a blue support zone between $0.84 and $1.04 on the 1-week chart. Like the $1 psychological mark, XRP broke above this area in the November 2024 rally after multiple attempts before then failed. It flipped this area from resistance to support and has not broken below it since. The confluence zone also lies in this area.

With these three important levels intersecting at the confluence zone, XRP could mount a proper defense at this region, potentially leading to a recovery. The Signalyst expects such a rebound to push prices toward $2, breaching the falling channel. 

However, he confirmed the uncertainty of this projection, insisting that investors should not see this call as investment advice. Notably, it is also possible for XRP to break below this confluence zone. Such a development would lead to steeper declines for the crypto asset.

Jake Claver, Chairman of Digital Ascension Group, has urged XRP holders to remain resilient rather than react to short-term price swings.

As the crypto market enters another downturn and XRP slips below $1.40, he emphasizes patience, conviction, and a focus on real-world adoption signals. 

Key Points 

• Jake Claver urges XRP holders to stay resilient and ignore short-term volatility. 
• He revisits the SEC v. Ripple lawsuit, noting that the company continued building and even launched three payment corridors by Q1 2026. 
• He advises investors to watch adoption trends rather than react to price dips. 
• Ripple continues expanding globally, integrating Payments, Custody, Treasury, and RLUSD while growing adoption in markets like Brazil. 

Reminiscing on XRP Performance During Ripple Lawsuit

Claver recently revisited the lawsuit period involving Ripple, noting that XRP traded largely sideways and tested even its most loyal investors. Although uncertainty dominated headlines and drove many investors out of the market, Ripple continued building behind the scenes.

Notably, Claver argued that the lawsuit’s conclusion did not mark progress; rather, it revealed developments already underway. By Q1 202, he stressed that Ripple had already launched three new payment corridors, quietly strengthening the XRP Ledger (XRPL).

These corridors, in turn, created real transaction pathways between financial institutions. As a result, they directly contributed to future settlement volume and served as a proxy for demand, according to Claver’s commentary. 

For context, XRP surged from around $0.50 in October 2024 to $3.65 within months. Claver suggests that this rally stemmed largely from Ripple’s behind-the-scenes progress during the lawsuit. 

Need for Patience and Conviction

His commentary suggests that investors often misinterpret price action by overlooking underlying utility. In his view, XRP’s market performance typically lags behind real-world adoption. 

By the time volatility returns and prices begin to rise, foundational growth, such as partnerships, integrations, and corridor expansion, has already taken place. Against this backdrop, he delivered a clear message: urge investors to remain patient and avoid getting shaken out of their positions.

Instead, Claver encourages investors to track adoption trends before the market reacts. Specifically, he highlights new corridor developments as early indicators of rising demand and potential future price momentum. 

In the meantime, renewed bearish pressure has pushed XRP below $1.40, fueling investor frustration. The token currently trades at $1.38, down 2.36% over the past day and 5.09% over the past week.  

Ripple Expands Global Financial Infrastructure

Even as the crypto market has remained bearish for most of the year, Ripple has continued to expand aggressively. The company has integrated solutions such as Ripple Payments, Custody, Treasury, and its RLUSD stablecoin into a unified financial stack designed to better serve institutional clients. 

More recently, the company intensified its push into Brazil. Its Ripple Payments network, having processed over $100 billion across 60 markets, has attracted major Brazilian financial institutions, including Braza Bank and Banco Genial. At the same time, firms like Justoken and CRX have adopted Ripple’s custodial solution.

Interestingly, Ripple has positioned XRP at the center of its long-term strategy, referring to the token as its “North Star”.

As a result, analysts believe that once market conditions stabilize, these ongoing initiatives could support a renewed price uptrend. However, near-term uncertainty persists amid continued bearish sentiment. 

Uncertainty around government crypto and XRP holdings is once again in focus.

Scott Melker, also known as The Wolf Of All Streets, argues that even basic details about U.S. exposure to assets like Bitcoin and XRP remain unknown.

Speaking in a recent podcast alongside Mark Yusko, Melker highlighted that despite growing speculation about a U.S. digital asset stockpile, there is still no clear data on how much XRP, or any crypto, the government actually holds.

Key Points

No Transparency on XRP Holdings

Melker pointed out that the lack of transparency goes beyond XRP alone. According to him, there is no confirmed audit detailing government reserves across major cryptocurrencies, including Bitcoin, Ethereum, Cardano, and Solana.

He noted that while discussions about a “strategic stockpile” have intensified, the absence of verified figures leaves investors guessing. “We don’t even know how much XRP the United States government holds,” Melker remarked.

XRP Escrow Speculation Adds to Uncertainty

The debate comes as speculation within the XRP community continues over whether the U.S. government could eventually acquire tokens from Ripple’s massive escrow holdings.

Some analysts have suggested that legal developments in the Ripple case could position the government as a potential “buyer” of up to 37 billion XRP held in escrow.

Others have floated the idea that Ripple’s $125 million penalty could be paid in XRP, potentially marking the government’s first direct exposure to the asset. However, these theories remain hypothetical.

There is currently no official confirmation that the U.S. government holds XRP, nor any indication that escrowed tokens have been pre-allocated or earmarked for federal use.

Notably, Ripple has already paid the $125 million fine, and no document suggests it was paid in XRP. Even if it were, it would most likely have been converted to fiat.

Skepticism Over Political Narratives

Meanwhile, Yusko expressed skepticism during the discussion about political involvement in crypto, arguing that expectations of government support are often misplaced.

He suggested that narratives about XRP’s inclusion in a national stockpile may be overstated, noting that, in many cases, government crypto holdings come from seized assets rather than deliberate purchases.

U.S. Government’s Known Bitcoin and Crypto Holdings

Meanwhile, the U.S. government directly holds other crypto assets such as Bitcoin, Ethereum, and USDT, based on on-chain data. According to tracking platform Arkham, the U.S. government holds 328,372 BTC worth over $22.97 billion, as well as 750.72 WBTC valued at more than $52.38 million.

It also holds 62,742 ETH tokens worth over $132.74 million and USDT valued at more than $126 million. The U.S. government’s tracked portfolio also includes assets such as BNB, WBNB, AUSDC, USDC, DAI, WETH, UNI, and LINK, all valued in the millions.

Collectively, the government’s crypto holdings are worth over $23.36 billion, with no XRP included in the lineup.

Meanwhile, there are suggestions that some of these holdings may still be subject to legal claims and are not yet under permanent forfeiture. Commentators believe that a full audit would clarify the government’s actual crypto holdings.