XRP price entered January 2026 after a strong recovery attempt but remained capped below $3. The recovery came after a prolonged decline in the preceding year that saw prices lose the pass of $3 in 2025. Selling activity however came back when the XRP was approaching some familiar resistance zones.
Simultaneously, the follow-through was still being constrained by restrictive market structure. Therefore, current price behavior invites a closer look at why XRP price still struggles to sustain momentum above key levels.
Profit Taking Activity Around Key Levels
XRP price extended its broader downtrend after losing the $3 level, which reshaped trader behavior across the market. Participants began to use rebounds more and more as an exit channel instead of creating new positions. Thus, upside efforts continually brought forth the supply that made recovery efforts always temporary.
Notably, the first major rejection appeared in late October 2025 near $2.65. Buyers compelled the price upward but soon the demand was absorbed by the sellers. That response was a profit-taking action by traders who were lower in position and this caused price to move backward before structure was able to rise.
Selling pressure remained active into early November as XRP price advanced toward $2.52. Once more buyers could not maintain momentum. As a result, traders minimized exposure instead of extend positions, which confirms the notion that rallies were not convincing enough.
Also, the trend was repeated towards the end of November around the level of $2.22. The price stabilized later at around $1.80, the demand zone. This zone ignited the most recent rally towards $2.35 zone. However, renewed selling around this zone showed profit-taking still dominates XRP price behavior. This rejection was confirmed as spot XRP ETF recorded the first outflow of over $40 Million, after 36 days of straight inflows.
XRP/USDT Daily Chart (Source: TradingView)Descending Channel Restricts XRP Price Expansion
XRP price continues to trade within a descending channel that has guided price action since July. It is this framework that leads to the fact that rallies do not develop into long-term progress. Higher levels are always defended by the sellers, and hence, recoveries are always kept in check and remedial.
After reclaiming the $2 level in January, XRP price moved toward $2.35, aligning with channel resistance. The purchasing power was however diluted towards that area. The slowing momentum pushed the sellers back in control and thus another rotation downward in the same structure was necessitated.
At the time of analysis, the XRP market value sits at approximately $2.08. If buyers hold the $2 level, XRP price could rebound as macro tailwinds strengthen. Incoming catalysts, including the US Reserve developments and CLARITY Act confirmations, continue to improve regulatory visibility, which supports renewed demand during pullbacks.
Selling pressure might push XRP to $1.80, in case the buyers lose, and the pressure is exerted on it. But that is the zone that already appealed to buyers in the past.
With this and an increase in the macro conditions, demand would be re-emerging once again and another rebound can be established even at lower levels. Sellers are still in charge of rallies, but reactions to downsides are more and more attracting buying attention.
XRP/USDT Daily Chart (Source: TradingView)Summary
To sum up, XRP price remains below $3 because sellers continue to control rallies within a descending structure. Nonetheless, the frequent reactions of buyers around $2 and $1.80 indicate that downside reactions are becoming more and more appealing to demand.
Thus, the rebounds might keep on occurring with the support of the macro conditions. Failure by buyers to defend at the price of $2 may see XRP test at $1.80 before it recovers. Only after the buyers overwhelm the sellers in areas of resistance can there be sustained upside.
Source: https://coingape.com/markets/whats-keeping-xrp-price-below-3-after-a-significant-jan-2026-rally/
