XRP Ends Its Strongest Quarter in Years
The rally was helped by U.S. spot XRP ETFs and falling exchange balances. In October, the market is also watching Ripple’s Swell and the Fed.
Key Takeaways
- XRP closed July, August, and September 2026 all in the green and posted a quarterly gain of more than 43%.
- The rally was helped by demand through U.S. spot XRP ETFs, short covering, and falling exchange balances.
- October is historically weak for XRP, while traders are watching the Swell conference, the Fed meeting, and levels around $1.70 and $1.30-$1.40.
XRP posted a notable milestone in the third quarter of 2026. For the first time, July, August, and September all closed in the green. XRP is now trading around $1.50 (€1.33) after a quarterly gain of more than 43%.
Strongest Quarter in Years
According to CryptoRank, XRP rose 2% in July, 30% in August, and 7.95% in September. That made it the best third quarter in four years. Still, XRP remains well below its July 2025 peak, when the price reached $3.65 (€3.23). That means XRP is still about 59% below that all-time high.
The rally came alongside strong demand through U.S. spot XRP ETFs. Short covering in September and continued outflows from exchanges also played a role. Since April, exchange balances fell from about 12.9 billion to 11 billion XRP, showing that fewer coins are sitting on trading platforms.
October Remains Tough
Historically, October is a weak month for XRP. Over 13 years, the average monthly return came out to a loss of 5.14%, with red closes in eight of those years. That makes the start of the fourth quarter especially important, especially now that the coin has had a strong summer.
The market is also watching Ripple's Swell conference, scheduled for October 27 through 29 in New York. Around the same time, the Federal Reserve is meeting, which could draw extra attention from traders in XRP and other major cryptos. The combination of those events could bring more attention to the coin, without saying anything yet about where the price is headed.
What Investors Are Watching Now
Technically, XRP recently broke a downward trendline that had been capping the price since July 2025. As long as the coin stays above current levels, traders are mainly watching the $1.70 (€1.50) zone as the next major level. If it pulls back, the market sees support around $1.30 (€1.15) to $1.40 (€1.24).
So whether XRP can put together three green months in a row now depends not just on recent demand, but also on how the coin gets through October. At the very least, the strong third-quarter performance shows that XRP has built more momentum this year than in earlier periods when a quarter ended green but not every month was positive. Earlier, record inflows into XRP ETFs already gave the mood around the coin an extra boost.
