XRP remains caught between a closely watched technical setup and persistent overhead resistance, testing the patience of bullish traders. A cup-and-handle pattern that market participants have monitored for weeks is now facing the risk of invalidation. XRP is trading near $1.11, still far below the earlier $2.68 to $2.77 breakout zone cited in previous bullish scenarios.

Ripple has introduced a dedicated Mint function designed to streamline RLUSD issuance. RLUSD is Ripple's enterprise-grade stablecoin, built on the XRP Ledger and intended for cross-border payments and institutional use. The update is intended to address minting delays and improve settlement predictability. It adds to Ripple's enterprise infrastructure and could make RLUSD more attractive for institutional users, positioning it as a competitor in a stablecoin market long dominated by Tether's USDT and Circle's USDC. However, the immediate benefit is more directly tied to stablecoin adoption than to spot demand for XRP.

Regulatory clarity across Ripple's broader product suite remains a larger variable for XRP's price outlook. Following Ripple's high-profile legal battle with the SEC—which concluded with a ruling that programmatic XRP sales on public exchanges did not constitute securities offerings—market participants continue to watch whether a clearer national framework for digital assets emerges. Infrastructure improvements may support longer-term confidence if institutional usage continues to expand, but traders still need to see stronger demand before XRP can reclaim higher resistance levels.

The broader macroeconomic environment also remains difficult. Megacap technology stocks weighed on major U.S. indexes as concerns over AI-related spending resurfaced. Tariff headlines further contributed to a risk-off tone across financial markets. When equities weaken, altcoins often face additional selling pressure.

XRP Tests Resistance as Cup-and-Handle Setup Remains Unconfirmed

XRP is trading near $1.11, just below a key resistance area that many analysts continue to track. A measured-move target near $5.18 still depends on a sustained breakout above previous swing highs. At the same time, the 50-day and 200-day exponential moving averages remain below the current price, keeping the longer-term trend structure constructive.

The breakout condition remains clear. A daily close above nearby resistance, supported by strong volume, could put the next resistance zone around $1.30 to $1.40 in focus. Until that happens, XRP may continue to trade within its recent range, leaving both bullish and bearish traders without confirmation.

On the downside, a loss of support around $1.08 to $1.10 could invite another test of lower levels. Some wave analysts continue to warn that a deeper correction remains possible if momentum keeps fading. Those bearish projections, however, remain conditional rather than confirmed.

Longer-term targets such as $33 to $67, and even $60, continue to circulate among well-known XRP analysts. Those projections remain multi-cycle targets rather than near-term expectations. For now, the central question is whether XRP can reclaim higher resistance and build enough momentum for a sustained breakout.

LiquidChain Cited as Traders Watch XRP's Key Levels

XRP's cup-and-handle setup highlights the difficulty of late-cycle positioning: even a technically clean pattern at a market capitalization of about $70 billion requires a substantial capital event to produce a major move. Some traders rotating out of stalled large-cap tokens are looking at early-stage infrastructure projects where pricing still reflects discovery rather than established expectations.

LiquidChain is one project drawing attention. The Layer 3 protocol says it combines Bitcoin, Ethereum, and Solana liquidity into a single execution environment. It describes its design as a Unified Liquidity Layer with Single-Step Execution and Verifiable Settlement, allowing developers to deploy once and access all three ecosystems without bridging overhead—an approach aligned with the broader cross-chain interoperability trend that has driven significant investment across the Layer 1 and Layer 2 landscape.

Third layer. Third eye. Coincidence? The Order thinks not. pic.twitter.com/TkjPSubTRQ — LiquidChain (@getliquidchain) July 24, 2026

Third layer. Third eye. Coincidence? The Order thinks not. pic.twitter.com/TkjPSubTRQ

The LiquidChain presale is currently priced at $0.01483, with $920K raised to date. The project is approaching the $1M milestone, which the source described as a level that has historically marked an inflection point in presale momentum.