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Armada Acquisition Corp. II, which is preparing to merge with XRP reserve company Evernorth, has seen a remarkable surge in its shares. Shares of the company, traded under the ticker symbol XRPN, have gained approximately 273% in value over the past week.

Shares in Armada Acquisition Corp. II, which is slated to take Evernorth public, have surged 273% in a week. The merger is expected to be completed on October 7th.

The stock closed the last trading day of the week at $39.42, having risen 68% in a single day. It also touched the $53 level during trading. XRPN was trading at approximately $10.58 a week earlier. Evernorth stated that it expects the merger to be completed on October 7th, provided the remaining conditions are met.

Armada operates as a SPAC, or special purpose buying company. These companies raise money from investors, hold the funds in an account, and then merge with a private company to enable that company to go public on the stock exchange. The company Armada will merge with is Evernorth, which plans to hold a large amount of XRP.

Evernorth is expected to hold approximately 473 million XRP upon completion of the transaction. At the time of this news, with XRP trading at approximately $1.51, this reserve is valued at around $714 million. However, the 84.4 million XRP the company acquired for $214.1 million, with a contract until the end of 2025, is now worth approximately $127 million.

It’s not possible to say that the sharp rise in XRPN stock is solely due to expectations surrounding XRP. Armada had $241.2 million in funds at the end of June, with approximately $48 million remaining for the merger. This suggests that around 80% of the funds could be returned to shareholders wishing to withdraw.

*This is not investment advice.

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The XRP Ledger saw notable shifts in trading dynamics during the second quarter of 2026, with fewer accounts executing trades but a significant increase in the amount of XRP moved per account, according to the latest data from Evernorth’s Q2 XRP Liquidity Report.

Decline in retail participationDaily trading accounts on the XRP Ledger’s order book dropped from 1,864 in Q2 2025 to 1,111 in the same period in 2026, marking a 40% decline year over year. This trend signals a reduction in the number of individual traders actively participating in the market.

Despite the sharp fall in active accounts, the average volume traded per account rose steeply. Active participants averaged 3,217 XRP in daily trades per account, up from 1,072 XRP per account a year earlier. This shift suggests that remaining traders are executing significantly larger transactions.

Liquidity concentration and order book dominanceOrder-book trades made up 81% of the decentralized exchange (DEX) volume on the XRP Ledger, compared to just 54% in Q2 2025. Overall DEX activity saw an average daily volume of 4.42 million XRP, representing a 20% increase from the previous year. However, this figure also reflected a 16% decrease compared with Q1 2026, noted as an exceptionally strong quarter for volume on the network.

The report highlighted a structural change: a pronounced move toward higher-value trades conducted by a smaller group of active accounts, leading to greater liquidity concentration within the network.

Average order-book activity per participating account rose from 1,072 XRP per day to 3,217 XRP, meaning the average active account traded roughly three times as much as a year earlier.

While institutional products are increasingly leveraging the XRP Ledger, it remains unclear if large institutions are directly replacing smaller retail traders. Multiple accounts could be controlled by a single entity, and individuals may also use several addresses, making precise attribution challenging.

Mini dictionary: Evernorth is an analytics and market intelligence firm specializing in blockchain and digital asset markets, known for its in-depth reporting on on-chain liquidity and trading trends.

Surge in on-chain asset valueTokenized assets on XRPL averaged around $3.72 billion in Q2 2026, more than 30 times higher than during the same quarter a year ago. RLUSD, a stablecoin used across various financial products, saw its average balances climb to $539 million from $73 million previously. Together, these assets lifted the total combined value on XRPL to approximately $4.26 billion.

MetricQ2 2025Q2 2026ChangeOrder-book traders (daily)1,8641,111-40%Avg. order-book volume (daily)1.99 million XRP3.57 million XRP+79%Tokenized assets held$120 million$3.72 billion30xRLUSD balances$73 million$539 million+638%This substantial growth reflects broader adoption of real-world asset tokenization and stablecoin utilization on the ledger, aligning with global trends in digital finance.

New accounts and broader network developmentsDespite the surge in on-chain value, network participation metrics showed declines. The number of daily transacting accounts dropped 24% year over year to 16,600, while new accounts registered fell 25% to 2,800 per day.

Instead, liquidity is becoming concentrated among fewer, larger accounts while substantially more financial value sits on the network.

Analysts suggested that these changes signal XRPL’s evolution beyond its original role as a retail payment network. As the ledger expands its infrastructure for institutional assets, stablecoins, and tokenized securities, the profile of its user base and transaction patterns continue to shift.

BlackRock, the asset manager overseeing roughly $15 trillion, still has no plans to launch a spot XRP ETF. The firm first said so in August 2025 and has held that position through late September 2026.

A recent Motley Fool analysis argues that BlackRock’s absence is reason enough to be bearish on the token for now.

What BlackRock has actually said In August 2025, after Ripple’s long-running lawsuit with the SEC was resolved, the firm said it had no plans for either an XRP or a Solana ETF. The firm has kept its crypto ETF lineup focused on Bitcoin and Ethereum, two markets where it has launched products and now dominates in the US.

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In September 2025, Robbie Mitchnick, BlackRock’s head of digital assets, laid out a five-factor framework the firm uses to evaluate new crypto ETFs. Those factors are client demand, market value, liquidity, maturity and portfolio fit. Mitchnick ranked client demand as the most important of the five.

By BlackRock’s own criteria, XRP does not currently clear the bar. The firm appears to view the token as falling short on market maturity, liquidity and fit within client portfolios.

The XRP ETF market is moving on without it Seven US issuers have already launched spot XRP ETFs. As of September 25, 2026, those funds collectively held around $1.77 billion in assets. That works out to approximately 1.18 billion XRP tokens, or about 1.9% of the token’s circulating supply.

The Ripple connection that isn’t an XRP connection BlackRock accepts Ripple’s RLUSD stablecoin as collateral in BUIDL, its tokenized Treasury fund. RLUSD is a dollar-pegged stablecoin, designed to hold a steady value. XRP is a volatile crypto asset whose price moves with the market. Accepting the first as collateral says nothing about launching an ETF built on the second.

Why the Motley Fool analyst is bearish BlackRock’s absence from the XRP space is reportedly contributing to a more cautious market outlook on the token compared with Bitcoin and Ethereum. If the largest asset manager on the planet keeps looking at XRP and deciding its clients don’t want it, that is a signal other institutions may notice.

What this means for XRP investors The roughly $1.77 billion already sitting in rival XRP ETFs is a live experiment in whether the token can attract steady institutional flows without BlackRock’s brand attached. If those seven funds keep growing, it would feed directly into the client demand metric that Mitchnick says matters most to BlackRock.

The key data points to track are assets under management across the seven existing XRP ETFs, any change in BlackRock’s public language on the token, and whether the circulating supply share held by ETFs climbs meaningfully above its current 1.9%.

Disclosure: This article was edited by Vivian Nguyen. For more information on how we create and review content, see our Editorial Policy.

Cover image via U.Today Disclaimer: The opinions expressed by our writers are their own and do not represent the views of U.Today. The financial and market information provided on U.Today is intended for informational purposes only. U.Today is not liable for any financial losses incurred while trading cryptocurrencies. Conduct your own research by contacting financial experts before making any investment decisions. We believe that all content is accurate as of the date of publication, but certain offers mentioned may no longer be available.

Veteran trader Peter Brandt has set a potential price target for XRP at $2.16.    

The trader believes there is an emerging technical formation that could lead to the aforementioned bullish price target for the cryptocurrency.

$XRP Excuse the rant I am about to unleash I believe in a concept called "measured moves" Targets or objectives are not sacred Charts often fail to deliver what we first identify and morph into something else I have identified a C&H in XRP On a larger time frame this C&H might be the right shoulder of a H&S The measured move would be to 2.16 with is the height of the inverted H&S (closing price, daily) projected upwards Chart change One pattern is identified only to turn into something else The right shoulder is poorly formed and abbreviated - this would suggest further right shoulder development is likely, but NOT necessary Note in XRP there is a TON of overhead supply to work through This is a negative for XRP Please note that I could care less about the fundamentals of XRP or any other coin than BTC XRP fans, please don't take this as an offense I trade price. Price is all that matters to me Look at the charts of some other coins -- using the same time period. $XRP has all that supply overhead, but look at $XMR -- all the supply has been absorbed. It is clear sailing ahead. Or $SOL. Now this is a Cup and Handle on a different level than XRP. Or ETH -- massive congestion without the same type of overhead supply that we find in XRP. Or XLM - overhead supply, but not in same magnitude as XRP Of these, my favorite by far is XMR. I do not know the fundamental narrative. I do not need to know. I write about these things as my contribution to the @BitcoinLive1 collaborative service. Trial memberships are presently available for $97. That less than what you will lose on your next losing trade. You have everything to gain by giving BitcoinLive a trial here https://t.co/7xkEgygNFY This sale end very soon

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— The Factor Report (@PeterLBrandt) October 6, 2026 A promising pattern The seasoned chartist stated he is seeing a cup-and-handle technical formation on the XRP chart. 

On a larger timeframe, it could also be the right shoulder of an inverse head-and-shoulders pattern.

Brandt says XRP price could hit $2.16 if the emerging technical pattern he's tracking ends up playing out. 

He set a potential $2.16 price target based on taking the height of this inverse head-and-shoulders formation on a daily closing price chart and extending it upwards.

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Given that XRP is currently trading near $1.50, it would mean the token would need to rally around 44% for it to hit Brandt's potential price target.

However, technical patterns often don't hit their initial targets or sometimes transform into something entirely different.

The veteran trader explained he is a believer in the idea of "measured moves." 

Brandt also noted that this potential right shoulder of the technical pattern is "poorly formed" and "abbreviated." This could indicate that more of the right shoulder is still forming, but not necessarily.

Major XRP obstacleBrandt also pointed to a major obstacle for the bulls with XRP price: a lot of overhead supply.

Looking at a weekly chart, Brandt pointed out that XRP price is well off the major peaks from the previous rally. There could be a lot of holders at higher price levels that could sell as XRP goes higher, forming resistance.

"There is a TON of overhead supply to go through," said Brandt. He called it a negative for XRP.

The trader compared XRP to a number of other major cryptocurrencies. He claimed that Monero (XMR) has already worked through a lot of its overhead supply. He also said Solana shows a much better-looking cup-and-handle technical formation.

At the time of writing, XRP is trading around $1.50 and has a market cap of around $94.65 billion, per the provided CoinGecko data. Over the past month, XRP is up around 5.5%.  

It was reported that Ripple [XRP] wants to expand a payment pilot that runs through the ledger’s DEX. With credit pilots in motion, XRP in lending pools could fund Ripple’s payment customers, but a busy network need not translate to adding value to the token.

The XRP ETFs have seen positive monthly net flows for six months now. Yet, the 90-day Futures taker CVD has been negative for over a month now.

The high network activity in August helped drive XRP prices up, but exchange reserves were also on the rise. Here’s what the Ripple token price action is showing.

XRP price prediction – Bull market underway, but patience is needed Source: XRP/USDT on TradingView The bullish momentum in August was accompanied by a swing structure break (dotted green) that shifted the trend upward. Since then, the trend has not flipped in favor of the sellers.

After August’s strong surge in buying pressure, the CMF reached a peak of +0.29 but has since slumped to negative territory. For a few days in September, the volume indicator underlined heavy selling pressure as XRP’s price corrected toward $0.130.

The RSI remained above neutral 50 to indicate bullish momentum was in place, and the OBV was also in an uptrend since August but has seen a pullback over the past two weeks.

The $1.54 high from February was breached relatively recently, and the buyers have held on to the $1.45 local support.

Traders’ call to action – Watch the range and liquidation levels Source: XRP/USDT on TradingView The XRP price prediction hinges on the price breaking out of the short-term range (purple) that extends from $1.45 to $1.65. Over the past ten days, the altcoin has been stuck below the mid-range resistance at $1.55.

Source: CoinGlass The 1-month liquidation heatmap highlighted $1.44 and $1.57 as the closest magnetic zones that could influence price movement. It is unclear which area would be swept first, but it appears highly likely that both areas would be swept before the next move.

The higher timeframe structure suggested that the next move would likely be bullish. Therefore, traders can look to buy in case of a failed breakdown below the $1.45 range low.

If the crypto market as a whole shows strength in the coming days, a bullish breakout past $1.55-$1.57 could also offer a buying opportunity.

Final Summary The XRP price prediction was bullish in the long term after its swing structure on the daily timeframe saw a bullish shift in August. In the short term, range-bound price action and sweeps of liquidity pockets could offer swing traders a chance to enter the market.

BlackRock, the asset manager overseeing roughly $15 trillion, still has no plans to launch a spot XRP ETF. The firm first said so in August 2025 and has held that position through late September 2026.

A recent Motley Fool analysis argues that BlackRock’s absence is reason enough to be bearish on the token for now.

What BlackRock has actually said In August 2025, after Ripple’s long-running lawsuit with the SEC was resolved, the firm said it had no plans for either an XRP or a Solana ETF. The firm has kept its crypto ETF lineup focused on Bitcoin and Ethereum, two markets where it has launched products and now dominates in the US.

In September 2025, Robbie Mitchnick, BlackRock’s head of digital assets, laid out a five-factor framework the firm uses to evaluate new crypto ETFs. Those factors are client demand, market value, liquidity, maturity and portfolio fit. Mitchnick ranked client demand as the most important of the five.

By BlackRock’s own criteria, XRP does not currently clear the bar. The firm appears to view the token as falling short on market maturity, liquidity and fit within client portfolios.

The XRP ETF market is moving on without it Seven US issuers have already launched spot XRP ETFs. As of September 25, 2026, those funds collectively held around $1.77 billion in assets. That works out to approximately 1.18 billion XRP tokens, or about 1.9% of the token’s circulating supply.

The Ripple connection that isn’t an XRP connection BlackRock accepts Ripple’s RLUSD stablecoin as collateral in BUIDL, its tokenized Treasury fund. RLUSD is a dollar-pegged stablecoin, designed to hold a steady value. XRP is a volatile crypto asset whose price moves with the market. Accepting the first as collateral says nothing about launching an ETF built on the second.

Why the Motley Fool analyst is bearish BlackRock’s absence from the XRP space is reportedly contributing to a more cautious market outlook on the token compared with Bitcoin and Ethereum. If the largest asset manager on the planet keeps looking at XRP and deciding its clients don’t want it, that is a signal other institutions may notice.

What this means for XRP investors The roughly $1.77 billion already sitting in rival XRP ETFs is a live experiment in whether the token can attract steady institutional flows without BlackRock’s brand attached. If those seven funds keep growing, it would feed directly into the client demand metric that Mitchnick says matters most to BlackRock.

The key data points to track are assets under management across the seven existing XRP ETFs, any change in BlackRock’s public language on the token, and whether the circulating supply share held by ETFs climbs meaningfully above its current 1.9%.

Disclosure: This article was edited by Vivian Nguyen. For more information on how we create and review content, see our Editorial Policy.

Crypto market watcher CryptoGoos has released updated price targets for several leading cryptocurrencies, outlining projections for the coming three to six months. His analysis places XRP within a range of $3.20 to $4.80, while forecasting similar upside for Bitcoin, Ethereum, BNB, Solana, Dogecoin, SUI, and Chainlink.

Price targets for major cryptocurrenciesIn a recent post on X, CryptoGoos stated that he expects Bitcoin to reach between $135,000 and $150,000 by the end of the next half year. He placed Ethereum’s target range at $7,000 to $9,500 for the same period.

For Binance Coin (BNB), CryptoGoos sees prices climbing to $950 to $1,350. Solana’s outlook is set at $400 to $700, reflecting continued optimism among some market analysts regarding its network activity and developments.

According to CryptoGoos, Dogecoin could advance to a band between $1.10 and $2.50. SUI received a forecast of $6.50 to $8.50, while Chainlink’s upper target was pegged at $450 and its lower at $280.

When presenting the projections, CryptoGoos did not provide specific details on the methodologies or technical indicators behind each figure but framed the targets as his personal near-term expectations for these major assets.

CryptoGoos estimates that XRP will trade between $3.20 and $4.80 within the coming three to six months, while he expects Bitcoin, Ethereum, Solana, and other top assets to post significant gains over the same period.

After outlining the targets, he engaged with his followers by asking if any prominent cryptocurrencies were missing from his analysis.

Market responses highlight differing perspectivesThe post drew a range of reactions from other traders. X user Shakamar questioned whether the current cycle would mirror previous bull runs, emphasizing that investors may focus on utility and project revenue rather than indiscriminately driving every altcoin higher.

Shakamar pointed out that networks such as Solana, Ethereum, BNB, and Tron generate measurable income and facilitate substantial transaction flows, and added critical remarks about the outlook for Dogecoin and XRP. According to Shakamar, Dogecoin “has no use,” while XRP, in his view, counts around 30,000 users and comparatively low revenue. SUI was described as more promising but still “way behind.”

“This cycle will be very different imo. Not all alts will go up,” wrote Shakamar, emphasizing that networks with tangible utility may outperform others.

Conversely, another user, Ransom South, showed optimism, stating, “That would work for me, though maybe higher.” He further suggested the market is entering new territory with the rise of artificial intelligence participation in crypto.

Debate over timing and targetsTrader Light responded with caution, suggesting that while the price targets are reasonable, the three-to-six-month period may be overly ambitious for reaching such levels. With the rapid shifts often seen in cryptocurrencies, questions arise over whether market momentum can align with these projections in such a timeframe.

CryptoGoos has not elaborated further on the specific catalysts or technical factors underpinning his targets. His outlook features XRP’s range of $3.20 to $4.80, and similar projections across leading digital assets for the coming months.

As investors await potential breakouts or consolidation phases, some market participants look beyond price levels, monitoring meme tokens for new opportunities. In this segment, an internet trend can quickly capture millions of dollars in trading interest within days. For example, Fomo App data highlights a trade involving “Niu Lai” that turned a $99 investment into approximately $370,000. Market observers emphasize that in meme tokens, tracking not just price but also timing and token selection is crucial. Fomo App offers tools such as token discovery, social feeds, investor rankings, and trade notifications, consolidating meme token navigation onto a single platform.

Veteran trader Peter Brandt has put a new price target on XRP: $2.16. In the same post, he warned that a “ton” of overhead supply stands in the way and said he prefers the charts of Monero, Solana and Ether. Brandt shared a weekly XRP chart on X showing the token at about $1.51. He said he has identified a cup and handle pattern, which on a larger time frame could be the right shoulder of an inverse head and shoulders.

Using what he calls a “measured move,” he projected the height of that pattern upward to reach $2.16. That would be a gain of about 43% from the price on his chart.

He was quick to add a warning. “Targets or objectives are not sacred,” Brandt wrote. “Charts often fail to deliver what we first identify and morph into something else.”

The problem: overhead supply

Brandt said the right shoulder of the pattern is “poorly formed and abbreviated,” which suggests it may need more time to develop.

His bigger concern is the area above the current price. Many holders bought XRP at higher levels during the 2025 rally, when it traded between about $2 and $3.70, and may sell as the price climbs back toward what they paid.

“Note in XRP there is a TON of overhead supply to work through,” he wrote. “This is a negative for XRP.”

“I trade price”

Brandt, who recently called XRP a “fool coin,” again made clear that the token’s fundamentals do not interest him.

“I could care less about the fundamentals of XRP or any other coin than BTC,” he wrote. “XRP fans, please don’t take this as an offense. I trade price. Price is all that matters to me.”

The charts he prefers

Brandt compared XRP with four other tokens over the same period:

Monero (XMR): His clear favourite. He said all the overhead supply has been absorbed and it is “clear sailing ahead.”Solana (SOL): A cup and handle “on a different level than XRP.”Ether (ETH): Heavy congestion, but without the same kind of supply overhead.Stellar (XLM): Overhead supply, though not on the scale of XRP’s.“Of these, my favorite by far is XMR,” he wrote. “I do not know the fundamental narrative. I do not need to know.”

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October’s strongest established crypto candidates have liquid markets, active developer communities and events that can be checked against public records. Bitcoin, Ethereum, Solana, BNB and XRP each meet the longevity test, but their October cases depend on different things. A scheduled testnet, an ecosystem conference or a validator vote can change expectations without creating token demand by itself.

Summary

Bitcoin remains the largest cryptoasset, with an October 5 closing price near $85,771 on CoinGecko. Ethereum’s Glamsterdam upgrade is targeted for the fourth quarter, with a Sepolia test scheduled for October 6 and no confirmed mainnet date. Solana has four Accelerate China events between October 16 and 22, while its faster finality upgrade still needs production evidence. BNB Chain targets a late October Jenner testnet, with its mainnet upgrade planned for late November. XRP Ledger’s Batch amendment is nearing an October decision, subject to validator support and the outcome of a security fix. The word “best” in a market headline needs a test. For this selection, a coin must have an established trading history, a substantial and observable community, a usable network or clear monetary role, and a dated development or demand question for October. These criteria do not rank expected returns. Market capitalization can make an asset easier to trade, but it also means a major price move requires much more capital than a small token does.

The list was selected on October 6. CoinGecko’s bitcoin history records an October 5 close of $85,771, while its global market dashboard offers a changing snapshot across all assets. Prices and market capitalizations should be checked at publication. A catalyst is an event to investigate, not a promise that a token will appreciate on the event date.

How were the five candidates chosen? Bitcoin has operated since 2009, Ethereum since 2015, XRP Ledger since 2012, BNB Chain since 2020 and Solana since 2020. Their histories include periods of heavy volatility and operational disputes. Longevity alone is not a safety certificate, but it gives readers more evidence than a newly created token’s few trading sessions. Public code, onchain records, developer documentation and long running communities make a claim about adoption easier to test.

The selection spans distinct sources of value. BTC is a scarce monetary asset. ETH is used to pay for Ethereum execution and secure its proof of stake network. SOL is the native asset of a high throughput chain. BNB pays network fees and participates in its ecosystem. XRP is used for XRP Ledger fees and can serve as a bridge asset, though a tokenized transaction on XRPL does not necessarily buy XRP as a payment asset. Putting all five in a single “October event trade” would hide these differences.

The calendar matters too. The BLS release schedule places September CPI on October 14. The Fed’s October calendar places the policy meeting on October 27 and 28. A network milestone can arrive on schedule yet be outweighed by yields, ETF flows or a fall in the wider risk market. We therefore look for independent confirmation in actual usage and trading rather than assigning a price target to the event.

Bitcoin: Large and liquid, but without a protocol launch Bitcoin’s October case rests on cash demand and its longest running monetary policy. The Bitcoin supply schedule caps issuance at 21 million BTC and estimates the next halving in 2028. October 2026 has no scheduled halving. A “halving catalyst this month” would be an incorrect reason to include BTC. The near term events are the inflation releases, Fed decision and the completion of weekly fund flow reports.

U.S. spot bitcoin exchange traded funds took in about $2.39 billion during the week ending September 25, according to Farside’s fund table. A crypto.news account of that week documents the concentration of inflows early in the period. Fund creations are observable institutional access, but investors can sell bitcoin into the same demand. One positive week does not establish an October trend, and a rising fund asset value can reflect bitcoin’s price instead of new subscriptions.

Bitcoin’s established network and market depth make it the clearest benchmark for the other four. Its risk is the same scale that makes it familiar: a move from roughly $85,000 back toward the prior high above $126,000 would require substantial sustained buying. The relevant October test is whether complete weekly ETF rows, cash market activity and price hold together after CPI and the Fed meeting. A negative spot demand estimate or repeated redemptions would undermine the immediate bull case even if a conference fills a calendar elsewhere.

Ethereum: Glamsterdam moves through a public test Ethereum’s official roadmap targets Glamsterdam for the fourth quarter but says its mainnet date is unconfirmed. The changes include enshrined proposer builder separation and block level access lists, both designed to address block production and execution efficiency. Public testing can reveal problems as well as progress. An October 6 Sepolia activation is a testnet milestone, and it should never be presented as the mainnet upgrade itself.

The protocol has an unusually broad developer and application base, but that does not make the token immune to demand shocks. A block execution improvement may raise capacity while reducing the amount users pay for a given activity. Lower costs can attract usage; whether they produce net ETH demand depends on transaction volume, fee burn, staking and the rest of the market. A crypto.news account of the Sepolia test sets out what remains before production activation.

Readers should check the test outcome, client readiness and whether a mainnet schedule is formally agreed. Ethereum’s event calendar lists October gatherings and November’s Devcon in India, but a conference is a venue for announcements, not a protocol upgrade. Ether remains an October candidate because it has actual network use and a verifiable engineering path. The risk is that testing slips, technical issues appear or the market has priced in the proposed benefits long before activation.

Solana: Four October events and a harder engineering test The Solana Foundation’s Accelerate calendar lists Shanghai on October 16, Hangzhou on October 18, Shenzhen on October 20 and Beijing on October 22. The series gives developers and financial firms a near term forum for product announcements. None of those dates obliges an institution to launch an application or purchase SOL. A useful post event check is a public deployment, fee paying usage or committed liquidity, with a date and entity attached.

Solana’s more consequential engineering promise is Alpenglow, a change designed to reduce finality from roughly 12.8 seconds toward about 150 milliseconds. A public developer network and validator work are tests of that proposition. An earlier crypto.news examination of finality frames the question for operators. The credible price case depends on a production rollout that maintains safety, not a demonstration in which only ideal conditions are shown.

Solana has a large consumer and trading community, a deep application ecosystem and products that give traditional investors exposure. Its vulnerabilities include congestion, concentration of activity in speculative tokens and the gap between theoretical throughput and user experience when load rises. A recent crypto.news look at the October setup notes the difference between an upgrade narrative and actual ETF demand. Follow validator participation, network failures and durable fees after each launch announcement.

BNB: Jenner has a testnet window, not a mainnet event BNB Chain’s announcement places the Jenner testnet fork in late October and the mainnet fork in late November, with exact times and release versions yet to be announced. The October claim is therefore narrow. Successful testnet activation would move the engineering process forward; it would not mean Jenner was already live for all BSC users.

The 2026 technical roadmap describes work on execution performance, lower fees, storage and developer tools. BNB’s role in fees means usage can connect to token demand, but fee reductions may mean each transaction consumes less BNB. Growth in transaction count should be weighed against fee revenue and token supply, not treated as a one for one price driver. The network’s exchange linked ecosystem brings distribution, and that same connection creates concentration and regulatory exposure.

BNB has an older and larger application base than a newly launched layer 1. That is why it belongs in an established coin feature. The October watch is whether the published Jenner binaries, test results and final mainnet timing match the announced window. If the fork slips or its benefits are small under real load, the testnet headline provides little independent reason for BNB to outperform.

XRP: Validator approval is a condition, not a launch promise The RippleX roadmap covers changes to XRPL’s transaction and token features. Batch aims to combine dependent actions, a potentially useful tool for atomic settlement. A security fix and validator vote make timing contingent. An earlier crypto.news feature on Batch separates the capability from the work a financial institution still has to do around issuance, custody and legal claims.

The XRP Ledger amendment documentation explains that amendments need sustained validator support before activation. Readers should verify the specific Batch amendment’s vote, the version running on validators and any published bug fix. A tentative activation date is conditional, and a release number is not proof that institutions are using the feature in production.

XRP has a long lived holder base and a network that processes payments and token transactions. A rise in institutional activity on XRPL need not produce a proportionate rise in XRP demand: issuers can represent other assets, while XRP fees per transaction are small. The price case strengthens if real applications settle repeatedly, liquidity deepens and XRP is used for more than mandatory fees. If the amendment fails its approval test, the October event thesis needs to be updated rather than rolled forward without explanation.

Which October catalyst is most concrete? Ethereum’s Sepolia activation has a specific public test date. Solana’s four conferences have specific venues and dates, but no guaranteed protocol change. BNB’s Jenner announcement has a late month testnet window and an explicitly later mainnet target. XRPL Batch has a validator process whose outcome depends on support and the security fix. Bitcoin’s macro and fund flow tests have a published reporting calendar but no engineering launch. These are different degrees of certainty.

The ordering does not predict relative returns. A testnet can activate and ETH fall; bitcoin can rise on cash inflows with no new upgrade; SOL can rally before its events and reverse afterward. A large community helps distribute information and applications, but social reach cannot replace users, fee payments or flows. For each candidate, compare the price before and after the event with BTC and the global crypto market, then inspect the associated onchain or fund measure.

The five names overlap with many broad market products. A portfolio of them is not five independent bets when macro liquidity drives all five simultaneously. XRP, BNB and SOL carry distinct technology and governance risks on top of general crypto volatility. Readers should not infer an allocation or a ranked recommendation from the order of this feature.

What to watch Bitcoin: Complete weekly spot ETF creations and redemptions after CPI, alongside spot demand and yields.

Ethereum: Sepolia results on October 6, subsequent client releases and any confirmed Glamsterdam mainnet schedule.

Solana: Verifiable applications from the October 16 to 22 events and validator evidence from Alpenglow testing.

BNB: Jenner testnet release and activation notice, with mainnet still targeted for November.

XRP: The specific Batch amendment vote, the security fix and later production usage by identifiable issuers.

FAQ What is the best established crypto to buy in October 2026? No one asset is best for every buyer. Bitcoin has the deepest monetary track record; the other four have different network use and October milestones. The article identifies questions to test, not a universal purchase recommendation.

Why include Bitcoin without an October network upgrade? Its potential October catalyst is changing cash demand around published macro events and weekly ETF flows. The next halving is estimated for 2028.

Is Glamsterdam launching on Ethereum mainnet on October 6? No. October 6 is a Sepolia testnet milestone. Ethereum’s roadmap targets mainnet in the fourth quarter without a confirmed date.

Will a Solana conference make SOL rise? No event guarantees a price move. Public deployments, use and fees after an announcement provide a better test than attendance alone.

Is BNB Chain’s Jenner upgrade happening in October? The late October window is for testnet. The announced mainnet target is late November and exact fork details remain subject to publication.

Does XRPL Batch require investors to buy XRP? The network requires XRP for fees, but the assets moved in a batch can be other tokens. Additional business use does not automatically translate into a large XRP purchase.

Are these five coins safer than small new tokens? Their longer history and liquidity provide more information, but all can lose value sharply. Operational, regulatory and market risks differ by coin.

When should the October case be reassessed? Recheck the dated event status, full fund flow rows and actual network usage after the relevant October release. An unconfirmed or delayed milestone changes the premise.

Disclaimer: This article is for information and educational purposes only and does not constitute financial or investment advice. Figures reflect regulatory filings and reporting available at the time of writing and change with each disclosure. Nothing here is a recommendation to buy, sell, or hold any security or asset. Always do your own research. Information is accurate as of October 6, 2026.

THE STREET: XRP could explode higher if this critical level breaks

XRP investors recorded a major profit-taking event on Oct. 1, 2026, with the market posting $258 million in net realized profit in a single trading session. 

According to Glassnode’s on-chain data, this marked the largest daily realized profit XRP has recorded in 2026. Interestingly, this occurred on a day when XRP saw limited price movement.

For context, XRP gained 0.27% on Oct. 1, closing the day at $1.4934. The price briefly climbed to around $1.51, but the session did not witness any sharp rally or major price catalyst. Despite the quiet price action, investors realized more profit that day than during any other session this year.

What the XRP Realized Profit Shows For the uninitiated, net realized profit shows the difference between what investors originally paid for XRP and the price at which they later sold or transferred their tokens. 

As a result, a large realized profit figure does not necessarily mean the asset posted a large daily gain. It could indicate large amounts of XRP changing hands after investors bought the tokens at much lower prices.

This appears to have happened on Oct. 1. Essentially, investors moved large amounts of XRP at a profit while the price traded around $1.50. 

XRP Net Realized Profit | Source: Glassnode The $258.189 million figure shows that holders locked in substantial profits even though XRP gained only 0.27% during the session. The profit-taking also added selling pressure around $1.51, which made it harder for the price to move higher.

The XRP Rally in August XRP’s performance in August 2026 helped create the conditions for the October profit-taking. Specifically, XRP gained 36.9% during August, making it the third-best August in the asset’s history. The rally followed a low of $0.98 on Aug. 19.

Investors who bought XRP near the $0.98 August low had built significant unrealized gains by the time the price remained above $1.40 through September and into October. 

When XRP moved toward $1.51 on Oct. 1, these investors could lock in gains of more than $0.50 per token. With large amounts of XRP involved, these gains help explain how the market reached $258.189 million in realized profit.

Quiet Trading Came Before the Large Exit Glassnode data shows that XRP’s net realized profit/loss ranged from a low of -$1.575 million to a high of only $8.24 million during the five days before Oct. 1. This suggests that investors were largely holding their XRP tokens during this period until Oct. 1.

The Oct. 1 figure also broke the previous 2026 record, which involved $188.575 million worth of profit on Jan. 5. For context, XRP gained 12.28% that day, with this impressive push setting the stage for the yearly peak of $2.41 the next day.

XRP also recorded several notable realized-profit figures earlier in the year, although none came close to the Oct. 1 reading. The market recorded $70.3 million in net realized profit on March 12. During the August 20-25 recovery period, daily figures ranged between $24.1 million and $69.4 million.

XRP Price and Open Interest Leave Room for Positioning as Range Holds

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XRP is trading in a compressed $1.45–$1.55 price range, with an hourly close above $1.54–$1.55 potentially drawing momentum buyers toward $1.63 and then the $1.70 area. The opposing risk is just as defined: a loss of $1.45 would weaken the recovery and put the 50-day EMA near $1.38 in view.

Our analyst frames the narrowing range as a volatility trigger, while noting that Binance open interest remains below levels seen a year earlier. That positioning may leave room for leverage to build after a break, but it does not establish that a sharp move is imminent.

Binance’s XRP Open Interest, BinanceBinance XRP open interest stood at 516.6 million, above the estimated 2026 lows of 350–400 million but far below the more than 1.3 billion recorded around the start of October 2025. The comparison points to a less crowded derivatives market than a year earlier.

If XRP clears $1.55, new momentum positions could enter, and short sellers may cover, adding to the move. If $1.45 gives way, leveraged longs could exit quickly, adding to selling pressure. In either case, the potential feedback between price and positioning is relevant; the current open-interest reading does not prove that either response will happen.

This matters for the XRP price setup. Relatively low leverage can leave capacity for positions to accumulate after price moves, but it can also mean less forced activity at the outset. Invezz’s analysis cautions that restrained positioning does not guarantee an explosive move or show that the market has already priced in a breakout.

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XRP Price Technical Analysis: The Range Holds the Key LevelsThe chart structure combines a symmetrical triangle with a descending trendline capping price around $1.52–$1.53. Buyers have repeatedly defended $1.45, while sellers have appeared above the current price. XRP remains above its 20-day, 50-day, and 100-day exponential moving averages, preserving the broader recovery structure as long as the support floor holds.

An hourly close above $1.54–$1.55 is the stated bullish confirmation threshold. A move through that zone would put $1.63 in focus as the next technical hurdle, with heavier potential supply around $1.65–$1.70. The $1.45 floor marks the inverse test: below it, the 50-day EMA near $1.38 becomes the next downside reference.

The boundaries matter more than any single indicator while price remains boxed in. Prior discussion of the XRP support and resistance range has likewise centered on the area around $1.45–$1.56, while a separate XRP support level near $1.37 provides context for the lower technical zone beyond the current floor.

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Finding the Next XRP Breakout On the upside, an hourly close above $1.54–$1.55 would confirm that buyers have cleared the immediate cap. Momentum trading and short covering could then help carry XRP toward $1.63, but the $1.65–$1.70 zone remains a meaningful obstacle.

On the downside, losing $1.45 would make the consolidation look more like a failed recovery and expose the 50-day EMA near $1.38. A swift reclaim of the $1.45–$1.55 range after a break would instead raise the possibility of a false move.

The range-break and short-covering dynamic also features in XRP positioning and potential squeeze scenarios, although the current open-interest data alone cannot confirm a squeeze.

For now, neither side has secured the chart. A close beyond resistance would strengthen the bullish case; a clean loss of support would shift attention to $1.38. Until one of those conditions is met, the compressed range describes the market more accurately than a breakout call.

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Jake Claver, a financial analyst known for his research on digital asset economics, has argued that the size of the global derivatives market could result in significant price growth for XRP. Claver stated that the derivatives market processes more capital in a single month than the cryptocurrency sector has seen throughout its entire existence, implying that even minimal inflows from traditional finance could dramatically shift digital asset valuations.

Scale of the derivatives marketThe notional outstanding value of global over-the-counter (OTC) derivatives reached approximately $844 trillion by the end of 2025, according to data from major financial institutions. At the same time, the gross market value—a metric focused on actual exposure—stood at $22.8 trillion. Foreign exchange (FX) derivatives alone registered average daily turnovers of $6.6 trillion in April 2025, highlighting the extraordinary movement of funds in the sector.

Claver pointed out that if even 1% of this massive market were to enter the cryptocurrency ecosystem, traditional price targets would quickly become outdated. He claimed that XRP is far from reaching its potential ceiling, considering these possible inflows.

Claver notes that the derivatives market’s scale means, “If even 1% of that flow finds its way [into crypto], most price targets look small. XRP isn’t near its ceiling.”

Mini dictionary: OTC derivatives are contracts traded directly between parties, outside formal exchanges. They cover a range of financial products, including swaps, forwards, and options, representing some of the largest and most complex financial instruments in the global economy.

Price target and market impactClaver set a price target of $750 for XRP, a figure that he believes is plausible if the digital asset captures a small share of the derivatives market flows. At present, XRP’s market capitalization stands at roughly $95.4 billion, while the total cryptocurrency market is valued at $2.92 trillion.

A 1% inflow from the $844 trillion derivatives market would add an estimated $8.44 trillion to the sector, more than doubling the size of the entire crypto market and driving a significant increase in XRP’s value. Claver attributes this growth potential to XRP’s existing infrastructure and its role as a settlement asset in cross-border finance.

MetricValueOTC Derivatives Notional (2025)$844 trillionCrypto Market Capitalization$2.92 trillionXRP Market Capitalization$95.4 billion1% of Derivatives Market$8.44 trillionXRP Price Target (Claver)$750Community reaction and further discussionThe crypto community responded actively to Claver’s assertions. Some participants expressed optimism, with one commenter stating expectation for a possible early retirement if the scenario materializes. Others brought up the concept of a reverse carry trade, which Claver has previously discussed. This refers to investors unwinding positions funded through low-yield currencies, such as the Japanese yen, and reallocating capital into higher-yielding assets like XRP.

A few community members acknowledged that XRP remains well below its historical peak but agreed the token retains potential for significant gains. Many market observers believe the derivatives market presents a major opportunity for assets that can facilitate efficient settlement, reinforcing Claver’s perspective on the potential for XRP.

Discussion among investors often centers around the idea that the derivatives market could offer the biggest opportunity yet for $XRP, as massive capital flows seek new settlement solutions.

Ripple, the company behind XRP, is known for its focus on enterprise solutions for cross-border payments, positioning XRP as a bridge asset in global finance. Industry participants continue to watch closely for any developments that could further link traditional market mechanisms with digital assets.

SEC FILLINGS: 8-K - Grayscale XRP Trust ETF (0002037427) (Filer)

Developers advancing the XRP Ledger (XRPL), the public blockchain supporting the XRP digital asset, have released the ninth version of the Smart Escrow Devnet, bringing programmable escrow features closer to launch.

Ninth Smart Escrow Devnet ReleaseMayukha Vadari, senior software engineer at RippleX, a division of Ripple that focuses on the development of XRPL infrastructure and tooling, described the release as a notable milestone in the path to production. Vadari, one of the authors behind the Smart Escrows proposal, explained that the team continues to review and test the Smart Escrow framework before rolling it out widely.

Developers experimenting with the Smart Escrow technology will need to update their configurations to accommodate changes introduced in the latest Devnet release.

The ninth release incorporates numerous improvements beneath the surface, including a major change in the Smart Escrow architecture. This update completes the migration of the WebAssembly virtual machine integration from the C++ programming language to Rust.

Mini dictionary: WebAssembly (Wasm) allows code written in various programming languages to run safely and efficiently on multiple platforms, including blockchains. The migration from C++ to Rust is often pursued for enhanced memory safety, performance, and modern tooling.

Performance Enhancements and Architecture ImprovementsVadari highlighted that the new Rust-based framework creates a unified entry point for managing gas accounting, error handling, and system checks. According to the development team, performance has improved by between 30% and 50% for every host function call with this architectural overhaul.

Besides the language migration, the team standardized names for host functions, ledger fields, transaction engine result codes, and execution entry points, making the technology more production-ready.

Programmability on the XRPL keeps moving, said Vadari, emphasizing the ongoing progress in bringing programmable escrows to the platform.

Programmable Escrow: Expanding Use CasesCurrently, standard escrows on the XRPL let users lock funds until a specified time or until cryptographic conditions are met. Smart Escrow introduces a new layer: users can attach a WebAssembly program to an escrow in order to define custom release conditions.

This approach could enable more sophisticated arrangements, such as requiring third-party notary approval, holding funds for compliance verification, or managing complex transactions like real estate purchases and auctions.

In practice, smart escrows could release assets only upon approval, completion of compliance checks, or successful input of external data through an oracle that satisfies predetermined criteria.

The feature set is outlined in the XLS-100 proposal, described as the initial step for bringing deeper programmability to the XRP Ledger and addressing scenarios that go beyond simple escrow mechanics.

Cover image via depositphotos.com Disclaimer: The opinions expressed by our writers are their own and do not represent the views of U.Today. The financial and market information provided on U.Today is intended for informational purposes only. U.Today is not liable for any financial losses incurred while trading cryptocurrencies. Conduct your own research by contacting financial experts before making any investment decisions. We believe that all content is accurate as of the date of publication, but certain offers mentioned may no longer be available.

Cardano (ADA): ADA has broken above long-term resistance and key moving averages, putting $0.30-$0.32 in focus as long as support near $0.24 holds.XRP (XRP): XRP remains in bullish consolidation below $1.60-$1.65, with a breakout potentially opening the way toward $1.70-$1.80.Zcash (ZEC): ZEC is undergoing a significant correction but remains technically constructive while it holds the crucial $1,300 support zone.Sui (SUI): SUI is consolidating near its September highs, with a move above $1.30 potentially extending the rally toward $1.35-$1.40.Cardano's surprising recoveryCardano is showing one of its strongest technical setups in months after ADA broke decisively above the long-term resistance that had constrained its recovery.

ADA currently trades around $0.275, following a powerful daily candle that pushed it beyond the September high near $0.265. More importantly, price has established itself above the major long-term moving average around $0.24. That average previously acted as resistance, but recent consolidation repeatedly tested it without producing a breakdown.

ADA/USDT Chart by TradingViewThe structure now favors buyers. ADA has formed a sequence of higher lows since August, while the shorter moving averages have turned upward beneath the price. Volume has also expanded during the latest breakout, adding credibility to the move.

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The immediate challenge sits around $0.28. Clearing this area would leave relatively little visible resistance before the psychologically important $0.30 level. Beyond $0.30, ADA could target the next broader resistance zone around $0.32.

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RSI is approaching the upper end of its recent range but has not reached an extreme that would automatically signal exhaustion. Consequently, momentum currently supports continuation.

The bullish scenario would weaken if ADA falls back below $0.255-$0.260. The more important support remains around $0.24, where the long-term moving average and previous consolidation overlap. Losing $0.24 would turn the latest breakout into a potential bull trap.

XRP remains in consolidationXRP remains in a bullish structure despite failing to extend September's explosive rally. The asset currently trades near $1.52 and has spent roughly two weeks consolidating below the $1.60-$1.65 resistance zone.

XRP/USDT Chart by TradingViewThat consolidation is constructive so far. XRP continues to trade well above its rising short-term moving average near $1.45 and significantly above the longer-term cluster around $1.35-$1.40. September's descending resistance trend line has also been broken. The key level is still approximately $1.60-$1.65. 

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Multiple upper wicks show a substantial selling pressure there, and XRP needs a daily close above this range before another expansion can develop. A successful breakout would put $1.70 back into play, followed eventually by $1.80.

On the downside, $1.45 represents the first meaningful support. Losing it could trigger a deeper retracement toward $1.38-$1.40. Until that happens, however, the current sideways movement looks more like consolidation above reclaimed support than a confirmed trend reversal.

Zcash rally is endingZcash has finally entered a substantial correction after its extraordinary rally, with ZEC falling from a September peak near $1,700 to approximately $1,330. Despite the size of the decline, the broader technical structure has not collapsed yet.

ZEC/USDT Chart by TradingViewThe most important level is now $1,300. ZEC has repeatedly tested the $1,280-$1,320 region over the last several sessions, with buyers preventing a decisive breakdown. This area also overlaps with the rapidly rising short-term moving average, strengthening its role as immediate support.

Momentum has cooled considerably. RSI has fallen from persistent overbought readings toward the neutral 50 region. Considering how overheated ZEC became during September, this reset was arguably necessary. However, declining volume during the latest stabilization suggests buyers have not yet demonstrated enough strength to confirm another major leg upward.

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A recovery above $1,400-$1,450 would provide the first meaningful bullish signal. From there, ZEC could challenge $1,500 and eventually the $1,600-$1,700 peak region.

That would expose approximately $1,150-$1,200, where another rising moving average could provide support. For now, ZEC remains in an uptrend, but it needs to defend $1,300 to prevent the correction from becoming considerably deeper.

Sui acceleratesSui continues to hold most of its September gains, with SUI trading around $1.22 following a massive breakout from below $0.75.

Unlike ZEC, SUI has avoided a substantial correction after its initial rally. Price has instead consolidated between roughly $1.14 and $1.28, creating a relatively tight range directly below the local high. Buyers have repeatedly appeared around $1.15, while the latest candles show another attempt to push toward the upper boundary.

SUI/USDT Chart by TradingViewThe immediate resistance sits at $1.25-$1.30. A daily close above $1.30 would establish a new local high and could open the way toward $1.35, followed by $1.40.

RSI remains above 60 but has cooled from its September extremes, giving SUI room for another breakout without entering severely overheated conditions immediately.

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The fundamental thesis behind SUI's rally is less about a major Sui-specific catalyst and more about liquidity gradually rotating through the broader crypto ecosystem. The renewed expansion of DeFi following Robinhood's launch helped strengthen the narrative around on-chain finance and brought fresh attention and capital back into alternative networks.

Sui appears to be one of the later beneficiaries. Improving DeFi activity and liquidity on the network provided enough fundamental support for the market to reprice SUI, but the move can largely be viewed as a ripple effect from the broader resurgence in on-chain activity. 

The Commodity Futures Trading Commission’s chairman has named Bitcoin, Ether, Solana, Stellar, Tezos, and XRP as digital commodities. For an industry that spent years arguing over what its biggest tokens actually are, that is a short sentence with a long backstory.

The classification places these assets on the commodity side of the US regulatory divide. That side is supervised by the CFTC, not the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Where the list comes from The tokens are part of a broader group identified in a joint interpretive release from the SEC and CFTC, unveiled on March 17, 2026. That guidance labeled 16 major digital assets as “digital commodities,” which effectively moved them out of the securities classification.

SEC Chairman Paul Atkins and CFTC Chairman Michael S. Selig presented the guidance together at the DC Blockchain Summit.

The release did more than name names. It organized digital assets into five categories: digital commodities, digital collectibles, digital tools, stablecoins, and digital securities.

Only the last of those buckets is typically treated as a security under US law, according to the guidance.

The interpretive release also addressed activities such as mining and staking. It did this through interpretive rules rather than new legislation, which means the agencies clarified how they read existing law instead of waiting for Congress to write a new one.

The XRP chapter finally closes Of the names on the list, XRP probably carries the most baggage. Ripple spent years in litigation with the SEC over whether its token sales amounted to securities offerings.

That fight wound down when all appeals were dropped in August 2025. The commodity classification followed the resolution, with regulators concluding that XRP’s programmatic sales do not constitute securities transactions.

Commodity status is not a free pass Being a digital commodity does not mean being unregulated. These assets remain under the CFTC’s anti-fraud and anti-manipulation jurisdiction in spot markets.

The guidance also notes that regulators keep their authority to pursue fraudulent activity across the digital asset space.

The CFTC is also looking past classification toward trading rules. On October 5, 2026, Selig announced the agency’s intention to advance new regulations covering leveraged retail trading of digital assets.

Those proposals might establish new frameworks under what have been described as Regulation CTX and Regulation CAM.

Why regulators are filling the gap The agencies are moving partly because Congress has not. Legislative efforts such as the CLARITY Act, which aimed to set out a full market structure framework for crypto, have stalled.

The limits are real. Comprehensive market structure rules still require congressional action, and guidance issued by one set of agency heads can be revisited by the next.

Disclosure: This article was edited by John Chen. For more information on how we create and review content, see our Editorial Policy.

XRP's recent consolidation phase could end sooner than you think. We will also take a look at one massive price prediction.

The cross-border token is approaching the apex of a narrowing technical structure as accumulation continues on certain scales, and several analysts expect the volatility to resume and possibly expand soon.

While the direction is not guaranteed, the majority believe the upside potential is higher. This is somewhat in contrast to the recent growing FUD around the popular altcoin.

$1.53 Can Unlock the Next Leg Up Ali Martinez highlighted a triangle formation that has continued to tighten as XRP moves closer to its apex. Interestingly, this comes despite the lack of major moves from whales in the past week or so. Recall that these large market participants went on a wild accumulation spree on several occasions in the past few months, but Martinez said they have remained on the sidelines lately, with no significant changes in their holdings.

This leaves the technical structure as the immediate factor to watch rather than fresh capital coming from whales. The analyst added that a close above $1.53 on the 4-hour chart could confirm a bullish breakout and open the door toward the next major target at $1.62.

Celal Kucuker shared a similar opinion, indicating that XRP has approached the tip of its triangle. However, his momentum indicators are mixed: MACD is recovering, but RSI is still below 50, meaning the asset has not yet entered what he calls a strong bullish zone. Nevertheless, Kucuker puts the probability of an upside breakout at around 65%-70%, compared with 30%-35% for a move south.

Bird also believes XRP has reached a “major decision point” and outlined a chart showing that the asset is currently testing the same resistance at around $1.51-$1.53.

We’re back at the major decision point for $XRP guys 😉 https://t.co/cNIk9AqwxH

— Bird (@Bird_XRPL) October 5, 2026

You may also like: ETH, XRP Sentiment Turns Deeply Negative – But Could Fear Set Up a Rebound? XRP Outflows Spike Above 320M, Echoing August Rally Setup XRP in October: Will Ripple’s Streak Continue After 3 Consecutive Green Months? Certain Accumulation Continues Although whales might not have been as active as they used to be during the August and September breakouts, CryptoQuant’s CW added an on-chain angle to the setup, showing that smaller investors have been accumulating heavily for seven consecutive days.

CW added that this phase has not yet finished, and the next meaningful price move could begin once it concludes. They also pointed to the strengthening MACD and EMA trends in recent tweets as evidence that bullish momentum is developing.

Separately, Dark Defender, a well-known XRP bull, highlighted a significantly more aggressive long-term scenario, which sees the token skyrocketing to $4.10 first, followed by $7.07, and then all the way up to $36.76. The analyst based his theory on the Elliott Wave pattern, suggesting that XRP has completed Wave 1 and is currently progressing through Wave 2.

Obviously, even the first, most modest target sounds a bit far-fetched right now, since XRP can’t really break out of the $1.51-$1.53 range. Nevertheless, the token has staged mind-blowing price rallies in the past, which leaves many fans hopeful for another similar run.

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In This Article What Does the Partnership Actually Mean for XRP Ripple SettlementWhat the Seoul Participants’ Disclosed Activity ShowsWhat Would Confirm Bank-Driven XRP Ripple Demand? XRP Ripple is trading at $1.52 on October 5, as four Korean financial institutions appeared alongside Ripple at XRP Seoul. The event put institutional adoption in the spotlight, but a stage appearance and a Ripple relationship do not prove a bank is buying or settling payments in XRP.

Reports named Woori Bank, Kbank and Kyobo Securities, while leaving the fourth participant uncertain between Jeonbuk Bank and Kakao Bank. Ripple also introduced XRP Asia as a regional initiative to promote the XRP Ledger.

The distinction matters for XRP holders because using Ripple’s products does not necessarily create demand for the token. A Ripple Payments partnership with Jeonbuk Bank, for example, signals use of Ripple’s payment infrastructure, not automatically XRP settlement.

Today in Seoul, at $XRP Seoul with Ripple as title sponsor:

Kbank. Kyobo Securities. Woori Bank. JB Bank.

Four Korean financial firms on one stage, talking cross-border payments and tokenized deposits.

→ JB Bank already settles cross-border payments through Ripple Payments.… pic.twitter.com/XMxswi0tbD

— DexDad (@DexDadHQ) October 3, 2026

What Does the Partnership Actually Mean for XRP Ripple Settlement Ripple payment software can help a bank communicate who should be paid, how much they should receive, and in which currency. That arrangement can operate using conventional money such as dollars, won, or yen, without routing the payment through XRP.

A different model uses XRP as a bridge asset: value is converted from the sending currency into XRP, transferred through the XRP Ledger, then converted into the recipient’s currency. In that setup, XRP is part of the settlement path. Whether that creates meaningful token demand depends on transaction activity and other details, not just a bank’s relationship with Ripple.

According to reports, Ripple Payments may settle using local currencies, Ripple’s RLUSD stablecoin, or XRP. That is why a claim that a bank uses Ripple Payments does not identify which asset it uses.

Similarly, a custodian holding XRP for clients is safeguarding the token, not necessarily using it to settle payments; growth in Ripple’s stablecoin ecosystem also does not, by itself, establish greater demand for XRP.

What the Seoul Participants’ Disclosed Activity Shows The 24/7 Wall St. report noted that Kbank launched a Ripple remittance pilot in April 2026 for the UAE and Thailand, but did not identify XRP as the settlement asset or specify payment volumes.

Jeonbuk Bank uses Ripple Payments for cross-border settlements, but it’s unclear if it was the fourth participant in the Seoul event. Kyobo Life is working with Ripple to settle tokenized government bonds, while Woori Bank collaborates with BDACS, a custodian managing XRP for institutions; neither confirms XRP use in transactions.

These activities involve different aspects of Ripple’s technology and do not provide evidence of XRP’s use as a settlement asset. The disclosures did not confirm any specific XRP settlement agreements or volumes, despite Ripple President Monica Long’s comments on future growth for the XRP Ledger.

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What Would Confirm Bank-Driven XRP Ripple Demand? Listen to what the President of Ripple just said, because she said it calmly and most people will scroll straight past it.

Pools of XRP, loaned into the pool, used as collateral, to fund payments for Ripple's customers.

Her words: payments credit meets the XRP Ledger.

Here is… pic.twitter.com/rAOwzrzi0G

— Jacob Marquez (@JacobMarquez__) October 3, 2026

The event signals public institutional exposure to Ripple-related products, but the XRP Seoul event page cautions that participation alone does not establish a partnership or affiliation. That caveat is particularly relevant to Woori Bank’s BDACS custody connection: the report describes XRP being held for institutional clients, not a Ripple contract or payment route involving the bank.

The report also notes that publicly identified XRP users have largely been payment companies rather than banks, citing Japan’s SBI Remit and its transfers to the Philippines since 2021. That example shows how XRP can be used in payments, but it does not establish that the Korean institutions have adopted the same model.

The clearest evidence would be a formal agreement that explicitly names XRP as the settlement asset and specifies transaction volumes. Payment or wallet data showing actual XRP routing would further strengthen the case.

Until then, Ripple’s institutional footprint is a meaningful development for its business and ecosystem, but it is not a measured XRP-demand catalyst; if the partnerships rely on software, custody, or stablecoins instead, direct demand for XRP remains unconfirmed.

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Finance analyst Levi has drawn attention to a notable shift in XRP holdings among major wallets, indicating that significant amounts of XRP are leaving prominent cryptocurrency exchanges. Levi, who closely tracks blockchain movements, recently shared an analysis highlighting activity among addresses holding between 10 million and 100 million XRP.

Whale accumulation and exchange outflows intensifyLevi revealed in his video commentary that wallets in this range collectively increased their holdings by 1.6 billion XRP over just two weeks, bringing their combined balance to a record high of 13.93 billion XRP. This surge in accumulation coincided with pronounced outflows from leading trading platforms.

By matching wallet activity with exchange outflow figures, Levi pointed out patterns that suggest heightened activity by major holders, commonly referred to as whales.

When whale accumulation and sizable exchange outflows happen at the same time, it becomes a situation that deserves close monitoring, Levi stated.

He noted that these developments are particularly visible on Binance and Coinbase, two of the world’s largest cryptocurrency exchanges. Levi further suggested that large holders generally act with strategic intent: “Smart money doesn’t make these moves for no reason.”

The data Levi referenced showed that on September 30, large transfers of at least 1 million XRP accounted for 60.8% of all XRP outflows on Binance and 48.7% of outflows on Coinbase. These numbers emphasized the dominant role of major transfers in the day’s trading activity.

ExchangeShare of Outflow (≥1M XRP)DateBinance60.8%September 30Coinbase48.7%September 30Mini dictionary: Whale, a term used in cryptocurrency to describe an investor or entity holding a very large amount of a specific coin, whose trading activity can significantly influence market prices.

The surge in whale accumulation and concurrent exchange outflows placed large XRP holders in the spotlight. Many analysts, including Levi, interpret the ongoing trend as a sign of potential strategic moves by the largest market participants.

However, not all voices agree about the implications of these movements. Erik J. Layton addressed community members on X (formerly Twitter), emphasizing that while outbound flows are substantial, the overall supply of XRP available on exchanges remains considerable.

That may be true, but we are still far from any genuine supply shock. Although much has left the exchanges, a significant volume remains available, Layton responded.

Levi’s main focus remains on the scale and timing of recent wallet accumulation and large outflows. In contrast, Layton’s remarks serve as a reminder that a meaningful supply shock has not yet materialized in the XRP market.

XRP price has jumped over 1.5% to near $1.51 in the past 24 hours as trading activity surges in South Korea. Its XRP/KRW pair on Upbit recorded $72.3 million in 24-hour volume, beating Bitcoin’s BTC/KRW pair. 

Meanwhile, veteran trader Peter Brandt sees a possible cup pattern forming on XRP, pointing to a potential breakout.

XRP/KRW Volume Surges Above Bitcoin in KoreaThe sharp rise in Korean trading activity has boosted XRP price up today. On October 5, XRP/KRW recorded $72.3 million in 24-hour volume on Upbit, a South Korean crypto exchange. This was higher than Bitcoin’s $66.4 million, showing strong demand for XRP among Korean traders.

The surge comes as the XRP Asia organization launched during Korea Blockchain Week at the Grand Hyatt. The event may have added to local interest and helped drive trading activity.

XRP ETF Inflows Add More Buying PressureThe stronger spot activity is also being supported by continued institutional demand through U.S. spot XRP ETFs.

The funds recorded another $4.74 million in weekly net inflows, extending their positive inflow streak to 12 consecutive weeks. Bitwise led the latest inflows with $2.11 million and has now recorded more than $678.4 million in cumulative net inflows.

Peter Brandt Watches XRP for a BreakoutMeanwhile, Veteran trader Peter Brandt’s latest XRP chart shows a possible bullish reversal, with XRP forming an inverse head-and-shoulders pattern around the 1.55 area. The setup is important as XRP is now testing the pattern’s neckline, which could decide its next major move.

The 1.55 zone is the key level. XRP needs to break and hold above this area to confirm the pattern. The setup has a left shoulder, a deeper low forming the head, and a higher right shoulder. A confirmed breakout would signal stronger buying pressure.

Brandt’s chart shows the next major resistance near $1.6572. If XRP breaks above this level, the price could target $1.70, followed by the $2.00 region.

The chart also compares the current setup with XRP’s earlier long-term breakout patterns, including the structures that preceded its major 2017 rally and late-2024 move.

What Could Impact XRP Price in the Coming Days?A key event for XRP in the coming days will be the expected launch of two XRP Ledger updates. The Batch (V1.1) and Permission Delegation changes are expected to go live around Oct. 8–9, 2026.

These updates could make the network faster and easier to use for large transactions. They may also make the XRP Ledger more useful for banks and other big companies. 

Story Ends Here

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Shares of Armada Acquisition Corp. II, a special purpose acquisition company (SPAC) listed under the ticker XRPN, soared approximately 273% last week as investors anticipated its merger with Evernorth, a company focused on managing XRP cryptocurrency reserves. The stock closed at $39.42 on Friday, up from $10.58 just a week earlier, and even briefly touched $53 during intraday trading.

Details of the merger and Evernorth’s XRP holdingsEvernorth expects to complete its merger with Armada on October 7, pending final closing conditions, according to a company statement. The combined entity is set to hold about 473 million XRP, valued at approximately $714 million based on Monday’s price of $1.51 per token. The transaction also includes $300 million in gross cash proceeds from several sources, such as $225 million raised through private placements, $30 million from convertible notes, and $48 million from Armada’s trust.

Armada originally held $241.2 million in its trust account at the end of June, with a per-share redemption value of roughly $10.49. An announcement from Evernorth stated that only $48 million in trust funds would remain after redemptions, indicating that roughly 80% of the funds will return to shareholders. This large return may reduce the number of shares available for public trading and contribute to significant price fluctuations.

SPACs like Armada function by raising capital, placing it in a trust, and then merging with a private company. Public shareholders have the option to redeem their shares for cash before the deal closes if they do not wish to remain invested in the new entity.

Mini dictionary: SPAC (Special Purpose Acquisition Company) — A publicly traded company created to raise investment funds through an initial public offering (IPO) for the purpose of acquiring or merging with an existing private company. After the merger, the private company typically becomes publicly listed.

Armada shareholders redeemed a significant portion of their trust holdings, leaving just $48 million for the transaction and likely increasing volatility in public trading due to a reduced share float.

Challenges in crypto treasury listings and XRP investment resultsEvernorth spent $214.1 million on 84.4 million XRP tokens through the end of 2025, paying an average of $2.54 per coin. This tranche is currently valued at approximately $127 million, reflecting losses as XRP prices have declined since those purchases.

Other cryptocurrency treasury listings have faced similar difficulties. For example, Twenty One, backed by Tether, fell 25% in early trading during its New York Stock Exchange debut in December, nearing the $10 price originally paid by private-placement investors. ProCap BTC’s shares fell by over 60% following its own public listing.

CompanyInitial Listing PriceCurrent/Recent PerformanceArmada (Evernorth)$10.58$39.42 (up 273% in a week)Twenty One$13.30$10 (fell 25% IPO day)ProCap BTCN/ADown 60% after mergerLarge-scale redemptions and subsequent thin public floats have contributed to sharp price volatility following crypto treasury SPAC mergers, as seen in recent market examples.

Potential price swings linked to redemptionsAnalysts noted that when a substantial portion of public shares are redeemed before a SPAC merger, the remaining pool of shares becomes very limited. This scarcity enables smaller trades to result in outsized moves in the price, a scenario evident in Armada’s recent surge.

The merger result, which brings a large treasury of XRP onto public markets, occurs amid heightened scrutiny of the viability and price performance of crypto-related SPAC deals in the current environment.

Is a $10 XRP Price Realistic? What the Charts and Open Interest Show

David Schwartz, Ripple‘s CTO Emeritus and a key architect behind the XRP Ledger, recently addressed public questions regarding the network’s persistently low transaction fees during a conversation on X.

Debate over XRP Ledger’s low transaction feesThe discussion began after an X user pointed out that some investors and analysts now value Layer 1 blockchains based on their fee revenue. By this measure, the XRP Ledger trails its peers, since its base transaction fee remains just a fraction of a cent.

The user emphasized that unlike many competing L1 networks, XRP Ledger’s fees are not distributed to validators as income. Instead, fees are permanently burned, effectively reducing the overall supply of XRP. This mechanism applies deflationary pressure to the token’s fixed supply of 100 billion units.

Data from XRPscan show that since the XRP Ledger went live, approximately 14,403,762 XRP—equal to about 0.014% of the entire supply—have been burned, a consequence of the network’s consistently low fees.

The user suggested that the network could consider incrementally raising transaction fees, proposing validators could vote for a base fee increase by a factor of 10 or 100. Even with a substantial hike, transaction costs would likely remain affordable—well under a US cent per operation—while the burn rate would increase considerably.

The user questioned whether near-zero fees play a pivotal role in supporting payments and tokenization on the network, or if pursuing higher fee revenue should be considered given market trends.

Mini dictionary: XRPscan, a third-party analytics platform providing real-time monitoring and data on transactions, accounts, and fee statistics for the XRP Ledger.

Schwartz’s perspective on metrics and network adoptionResponding to these questions, Schwartz argued against using fee revenue as a primary metric for evaluating blockchain projects. He maintained that the true value of a network like XRP Ledger lies in minimizing frictions for users rather than maximizing profits for validators or block producers.

“I think fee revenue is a terrible metric since it measures how much friction the chain ‘didn’t’ remove,” Schwartz said.

Highlighting the network’s foundational ethos, Schwartz contended that affordable, rapid settlement is a core objective. He cautioned that focusing on fee revenue risks prioritizing network revenue over user benefit.

“If you represent the people who collect the fees, then fees are great. But what about the people who ‘pay’ the fees? Who cares about their interests?” he continued.

Schwartz’s defense positions near-zero transaction fees as critical for supporting mass adoption, especially in payments and asset tokenization. He suggested that low costs could drive institutional interest and pave the way for broader use cases on the network.

Ripple, a US-based financial technology company, is known for its role in developing both the XRP ledger and cross-border payment solutions for banks and payment service providers.

XRP has overtaken both Bitcoin and Ethereum in trading volume on South Korea’s cryptocurrency market, according to data from CoinMarketCap. The surge in local activity has kept XRP’s price stable in the $1.45 to $1.52 range, defying downward trends across global markets.

XRP leads market following Seoul conferenceThe increase in XRP trading activity coincides with the conclusion of the XRP Seoul 2026 conference, held recently in the South Korean capital. At the event, industry leaders outlined a targeted strategy to advance distributed ledger technology in Asia. Observers, however, continue to urge caution when interpreting Korea’s trading numbers, citing unique local factors.

A key development was the announcement of new blockchain initiatives by several major South Korean financial institutions. According to Vet, an executive at the XRPL Foundation, Kakao Bank—a leading digital bank in South Korea with a user base of 27 million—has approved plans to build its own blockchain infrastructure by 2027. The bank is currently exploring ways to integrate the XRP Ledger (XRPL) into its custody services and for tokenizing real-world assets.

Woori Bank and K Bank, two other prominent financial institutions, have also indicated interest in pilot programs using the XRP Ledger for their operations. To coordinate these efforts, the newly established XRP Asia hub was introduced at the event, led by Sabrina Tachdjian.

Kakao Bank is recognized as a trailblazer among South Korean digital banks, providing a broad range of online financial services to millions of users.

Mini dictionary: XRPL Foundation, a non-profit organization dedicated to supporting the development and adoption of the open-source XRP Ledger blockchain.

AI and micropayments sector drives use casesIn parallel with the banking developments, interest in the Agentic Economy sector—focused on AI agent micropayments—has grown rapidly. Infrastructure startup t54.ai, which is backed by asset management giant Franklin Templeton, reported that the number of autonomous robot transactions using the x402 protocol over XRPL now exceeds 12 million.

During a panel at the Seoul event, representatives from t54 stated that preparations are underway to automate these AI-powered systems. Both XRP and the upcoming RLUSD stablecoin will serve as key settlement assets within this infrastructure.

Mini dictionary: x402 protocol, a communication standard enabling automated machine-to-machine payments and data exchanges on blockchain networks.

Representatives from t54 confirmed the upcoming use of both XRP and RLUSD in settlement processes for autonomous AI systems now in development.

Domestic factors shape market activityDespite XRP’s surge to the top of trading volume rankings, analysts note that several local factors are influencing these numbers without significantly affecting the asset’s global supply or price.

FactorDescriptionImpact on MarketLeverage banSouth Korea bans margin trading for retail investorsSpot trading dominates, driving up turnover for select assets like XRPIntegration testingBanks test blockchain software for fiat settlementsNo need to purchase large amounts of XRP on the open marketMicroscopic feesAI agents pay gas fees in tiny XRP incrementsMillions of transactions have limited impact on token supplySouth Korea’s ban on margin trading compels retail participants to focus on spot markets, often resulting in sharp fluctuations or sudden increases in the rankings of individual assets. Additionally, bank technology pilots for blockchain settlements largely happen off-chain or with synthetic tokens, having little to no effect on open-market XRP demand.

Robot-driven transactions by AI agents incur only minimal gas fees, meaning that high-frequency machine payments do not contribute to substantial changes in XRP’s overall market supply.

The token’s leading position in South Korea highlights rising interest from major local institutions, but market observers expect that any significant impact on XRP valuation will likely materialize only after the full-scale rollout of banking platforms in 2027.