Ripple’s XRP closed last week at $3.50 for the first time since 2021. However, it pulled back to around $3 at the start of the week, failing to reach its target of $3.84. Triggers of the previous rise included Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell’s hints at a rate cut before the September 17 FOMC meeting and the conclusion of the SEC-Ripple 
$1 appeal, which confirmed a settlement. This settlement encompasses Ripple’s $125 million fine and a court ruling that XRP is not a security in secondary market transactions.
Impact of Powell’s Speech and Legal Settlement on XRP
While Powell’s statements at Jackson Hole last week triggered a market rise, XRP could not maintain the same momentum. Bitcoin 
$77,420 and Ethereum 
$2,287 reached all-time highs of $124,000 and $4,890, respectively, since the month’s start, but XRP struggled to surpass the $3.84 mark, pulling back by 4% to around $3. This scenario highlights that despite the removal of legal uncertainty, XRP’s price still struggled with strong resistance levels.
However, the finalization of the SEC-Ripple case settlement, the closure of appeal avenues, and the move to enforcement provide positive signals for the mid-to-long-term outlook. Nonetheless, short-term pricing remains sensitive to global risk appetite and liquidity conditions. A new momentum is unlikely unless technical levels are surpassed.
XRP Coin’s Price Under Intense Short Pressure
In derivative markets, Coinglass’s 30-day liquidation map for Binance shows that short positions in XRP amount to $1.15 billion, vastly outpacing $489 million in long positions. This imbalance following the rally led to accelerated profit-taking, reflecting the bears’ attempt to exploit the overbought perception. Experts anticipate the pressure on prices to persist unless a new positive trigger emerges.
At the time of writing, the price of XRP coin was approximately $2.98. In altcoin, short-term averages are creating a narrow resistance band at $2.99 (5-day) and $3.05 (13-day). The MACD is in the negative zone, providing a caution signal for buyers.
A convincing breakout above $3.10 could bring the $3.50–$3.84 range back into focus and, in the event of renewed institutional interest, the price could reach up to $4.00. Otherwise, the price lingering below $3.00 might lead to testing the $2.88 level and the $2.70 support that acted as a reaction level at the start of August.
