When you zoom out on this weekly chart, one thing becomes pretty clear right away: the XRP price doesn’t really move in short, clean trends. It moves in long phases. Big ones.
You can see it back in the early years when XRP barely did anything, then suddenly surged during the 2017 run, topping out near $3.30 in early 2018. After that came the long, painful correction and years of slow recovery attempts.
Nothing about that journey looks smooth, but the pattern keeps repeating. XRP expands hard, cools off for a long time, then starts building again.
What you'll learn 👉
Why This XRP Sideways Phase Matters
What really stands out now is what happened after the late-2024 and early-2025 breakout. The XRP price surged into the multi-dollar zone, and then it just stopped trending. Instead of continuing higher or dumping, it’s been moving sideways for more than a year.
Right now, the price is hovering around $2.05, and it feels like the market is stuck in neutral. But that’s not a bad thing. When XRP trades in a tight range for this long, it usually means pressure is building.
The market is basically waiting for something strong enough to force a move, either up or down. This kind of behavior often shows up during accumulation phases, when big players are quietly positioning rather than chasing price.
Why Traders Are Watching XRP at $3.10 So Closely
On the chart, one level keeps coming up as a key line in the sand: around $3.10. That’s where the 2.272 Fibonacci extension sits, and it’s being treated as the real pivot level.
#XRP Grinding Sideways for 1+ Year That Could Open Door to $9. #Ripple 🧵🧵🧵 pic.twitter.com/7ndjzckDTi
— TheCryptoBasic (@thecryptobasic) January 20, 2026
In simple terms, if the XRP price manages to break above $3.10 and then hold it as support, that would signal a shift from boring consolidation into a new expansion phase. It would mean the range has finally resolved to the upside instead of dragging on.
If that doesn’t happen, though, the story stays the same. XRP remains stuck in its long sideways grind, no matter how exciting short-term moves might look.
Read Also: XRP Bloodbath or Smart Money Accumulation? The Charts Are Sending Mixed Signals
Where the $9 Target Comes From
Higher up on the chart, there’s another level that naturally catches the eye, around $9. That’s the 2.618 Fibonacci extension, and it’s not there as some random moonshot target.
The idea is pretty simple: if XRP breaks out of this long range, reclaims $3.10, and momentum follows through, then those higher extensions suddenly become realistic technical objectives.
Not guarantees, not predictions, but areas the market could aim for based on historical structure. For now, though, none of that matters unless the XRP price proves it can escape this range. First comes the breakout. Then comes the bigger conversation.
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