XRP Breaks Above $1.45 in High-Volume Surge
XRP spiked 2.5% on May 11, clearing the $1.45 resistance level with one of the highest volume readings in several weeks. The move outpaced both Bitcoin (BTC) and Ethereum (ETH) in early trading.
Profit-taking emerged near session highs, but the token held above $1.45 at the time of the CoinDesk report.
XRP Breaks Above $1.45 in Early Trading
The move through $1.45 drew attention because of its accompanying volume. A sharp price increase without volume support often fades quickly.
Sunday’s action was different: buying pressure arrived in size, pushing XRP through a level that had resisted several prior attempts across late April and early May 2026.
XRP (XRP) ranks among the top five assets by market capitalization in the cryptocurrency market. It operates on the XRP Ledger, a blockchain developed by Ripple that uses a consensus protocol rather than proof-of-work mining.
Ripple designed the network for fast, low-cost payments, with settlement times typically under five seconds.
Bitcoin edged lower in the same window, trading just below its recent range. Ethereum (ETH) posted a modest gain but trailed XRP by a wide margin on a percentage basis. The relative outperformance of XRP against both assets reflected a rotation into the Ripple-adjacent token that had been building since mid-week.
Also Read: Bitcoin Dominance Crosses 61% as Altcoin Recovery Remains Fragile
Background
XRP has carried regulatory baggage for years.
The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission filed a lawsuit against Ripple in December 2020, alleging that XRP sales constituted unregistered securities offerings.
That case dragged through the courts for more than three years before a partial ruling in July 2023 found that programmatic sales of XRP on exchanges did not constitute securities transactions. Institutional sales were treated differently.
The resolution of that legal uncertainty opened XRP to renewed exchange listings and institutional interest in the United States.
Since early 2025, XRP inflows to U.S.-accessible venues have risen steadily. The token has also benefited from growing speculation about a potential spot XRP ETF, a product that several asset managers have filed for with the SEC in 2026.
Also Read: Grayscale Files to Convert Cardano Trust Into a Spot ADA ETF
What Comes Next
Traders will watch whether XRP can hold $1.45 as a new support level on a closing basis.
A sustained close above that level would be the first in several weeks. The broader market context matters too.
Bitcoin dominance has been elevated, which historically compresses altcoin gains when it reverses. A broader rotation out of Bitcoin and into altcoins would give XRP additional fuel.
The next upside level traders are watching is $1.55, a zone that capped the token’s February 2026 rally.
Read Next: Toncoin Drops 10% as Telegram-Linked Blockchain Faces Profit-Taking
