XRP Slides 3% to $1 as Thin Binance Books Put $0.95 in Play

Market Cap Drops as XRP Hits YTD Lows

On Tuesday, XRP led an altcoin tumble, nosediving over 3% amid reports of another institutional investor acquiring Bitwise’s XRP exchange-traded fund. Daily market data show that XRP slipped from $1.04 to $1 by 3:13 a.m. EST, surpassing its previous year-to-date low seen in late June. On Bitstamp, the digital asset appeared on course to break below the $1 threshold for the first time since November 2024.

Following the slide, XRP’s market capitalization dropped from over $65 billion to $62.8 billion, widening its gap behind the USDC stablecoin, whose market cap stands at $72 billion. Since its Jan. 6 peak of $2.40, XRP has declined nearly 60%, making it one of the worst-performing high-cap altcoins this year.

While the digital asset’s downtrend aligned with that of the broader crypto economy, XRP has seemingly failed to reverse its losses when the market rallies, unlike its peers. This pattern caused it to drop from the No. 3 digital asset—a position attained after reaching an all-time high of $3.66 in July 2025—to the sixth most capitalized.

XRP’s decline has continued even as Ripple, the company behind the XRP Ledger, advances its quest to drive widespread adoption of the digital asset. In its latest announcement, Ripple, which secured a crypto asset service provider authorization from Luxembourg, said the regulatory groundwork for its European expansion is in place, and its focus has shifted to scaling.

In addition to Ripple’s activities, XRP continues to gain institutional adoption. Chicago-based hedge fund Wolverine Asset Management is the latest to jump in, with its recent 13F-HR filing revealing a new position in the Bitwise XRP ETF.

Despite these developments, some analysts warn that XRP could extend its downward trend. Social media user Vincent Van Code cautioned that thin trading volumes make the asset vulnerable to market manipulation, warning of a cascade toward the $0.95 level.

“$XRP is about to break the psychological $1 support,” Vincent Van Code wrote, noting that 24-hour trading volume on Binance had dropped to $68 million from over $1 billion. “Lots of people opening long positions because they think the bottom is in, and this is ripe for Binance and VIPs to liquidate these positions quite easily with only [a] very small slush fund. Current order books [are] super thin, with only $4M sells triggering [a] drop to 0.95 level, and likely closing out millions in longs.”

The analyst’s sentiment seemingly reflects a broader split across social media where discussions remain polarized. While cautionary posts point to stacked sell walls and thin order books, a resilient segment of retail traders views the sub-$1 region as an accumulation zone, holding out for a technical rebound if key support holds.