XRP is trading near $1.46 after gaining 2.8% over the past 24 hours, outperforming Bitcoin during a period when the broader crypto market has remained largely flat.

The recent move has placed XRP in a critical technical zone, where bullish momentum is being tested against a strong resistance range between $1.44 and $1.46.

Over the past month, XRP has climbed 7.9%, supported by rising institutional interest, stronger ETF inflows, and renewed regulatory optimism.

Last week alone, XRP spot exchange-traded funds recorded $34.21 million in net inflows, a notable sign that institutional capital is actively positioning around the asset.

Despite these bullish drivers, short-term technical indicators suggest the rally may be losing pace as traders watch closely for the next catalyst.

XRP’s repeated attempts to break above the $1.44–$1.46 range have so far failed, making this area one of the most important technical barriers in the current structure.

Crypto analyst Samz Crypto noted that this price zone has historically acted as a supply region, where selling pressure consistently interrupts upward momentum.

According to his recent technical breakdown on CoinMarketCap, the Bull Bear Power indicator has turned negative again, with expanding red histogram bars below the zero line.

This suggests bears currently hold more influence over short-term price action.

At the same time, XRP’s Relative Strength Index has cooled considerably.

After previously pushing above 60 during the recent rally, RSI has now dropped to around 57 on shorter-term charts, signalling that bullish momentum has weakened, although the altcoin still has room to move higher before entering the overbought region.

The combination of weakening short-term momentum and neutral broader strength leaves XRP at an important crossroads.

While technical resistance remains firm, XRP’s recent gains have not been driven by speculation alone.

A major institutional catalyst emerged after a tokenised US Treasury settlement pilot involving Ondo Finance, JPMorgan, Mastercard, and Ripple demonstrated the XRP Ledger’s potential use in institutional finance infrastructure.

The pilot highlighted XRP Ledger’s growing relevance in tokenised asset settlement and cross-border financial systems.

This development added credibility to XRP’s long-term use case and helped fuel investor confidence.

Regulatory expectations are also contributing to market sentiment amid the upcoming US Senate Banking Committee markup of the CLARITY Act on May 14, which could offer greater legal clarity for digital assets.

This event is widely viewed as a near-term trigger that could influence XRP’s next directional move.

From a moving average perspective, XRP has shown measurable improvement.

The cryptocurrency has reclaimed its 10-day, 20-day, and 50-day exponential moving averages (EMAs), signalling improving short-term trend strength.

However, XRP remains below its 100-day and 200-day EMAs, which means long-term macro pressure still caps broader upside.

If XRP can hold support above $1.43 and reclaim strength above $1.46, traders are watching for upside targets near $1.50, followed by $1.53.

Fibonacci extension levels also place additional upside potential in the $1.56–$1.60 range.

On the downside, a failure to hold above $1.43 could open the door to a pullback toward $1.40, with analysts hinting at deeper support around $1.38.

XRP has historically experienced long consolidation phases between major bull cycles.

After reaching an early peak of $0.0614 in December 2013, XRP fell sharply before eventually establishing a new long-term high years later.

These extended recovery patterns have become part of XRP’s broader market behaviour.

Currently, XRP remains about 60% below its all-time high of $3.65 reached in July 2025, suggesting substantial recovery ground still exists despite recent gains.

For now, XRP’s price action remains balanced between strong institutional and regulatory catalysts on one side and cooling technical momentum on the other.

The coming days, particularly around the May 14 regulatory event, may determine whether XRP can finally clear resistance and extend its recovery, or whether sellers will force another retracement.

The post Why is XRP struggling to clear critical $1.46 resistance zone? appeared first on Invezz

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