Overview

• Price repeatedly defended the $2.99 base and was capped at $3.04–$3.05, keeping XRP boxed in a tight range heading into October catalysts.
• On-chain trackers flagged roughly 320 million XRP moved to exchanges (about $950 million), alongside whale disposals exceeding $300 million, creating a visible sell overhang.
• Derivatives open interest climbed sharply with divergent estimates (CryptoQuant about $2.9 billion, Coinglass about $8.9 billion) as spot volumes slipped roughly 11%, signaling heavier leveraged exposure.
• CoinDesk reported over 1.5 billion tokens transacted and an intraday spike to $3.05 before consolidation near $2.99, with traders watching a clean break above $3.05–$3.10 for momentum.
• Markets are focused on SEC spot XRP ETF decision windows starting Oct. 19 and Ripple’s ongoing OCC banking license application, developments that could influence flows but remain unapproved.