XRP slid after the U.S. Senate delayed action on the proposed Digital Asset Market Clarity Act, dropping from about $1.10 to an intraday low near $1.05 on July 28. The selloff extended through July 28 before a partial rebound lifted the token back toward roughly $1.08 by July 29, but price remained below pre-delay levels as investors recalibrated the timing of a key regulatory catalyst.
According to CoinGecko data cited in the report, the delay followed Senate Majority Leader John Thune giving priority to a Russia sanctions package and federal nominations instead of bringing the CLARITY Act to the Senate floor. The postponement pushed any potential vote beyond the Aug. 8 congressional recess, extending uncertainty over how U.S. lawmakers plan to structure oversight for digital assets.
Key takeaways
- Price move: XRP fell from around $1.10 to near $1.05 before recovering toward about $1.08.
- Catalyst: Senate scheduling changes delayed consideration of the CLARITY Act after July 27.
- Market reaction: The broader crypto market also turned defensive ahead of the Federal Open Market Committee’s July 28–29 meeting, with Bitcoin briefly slipping below $63,500 and Ethereum down about 4%.
- Implication: A regulatory timing uncertainty shock triggered leveraged liquidations, but stabilizing demand—supported by spot XRP ETF inflows—helped prevent a deeper decline.
What drove the move
Investors had focused on the CLARITY Act as a potential regulatory inflection point for the U.S. crypto market. The bill aims to clarify how digital assets would be regulated by delineating roles between the Securities and Exchange Commission and the Commodity Futures Trading Commission—an outcome closely watched by XRP holders given Ripple’s long-running legal dispute with the SEC.
In the days leading up to the Senate delay, traders appeared to treat progress toward a floor vote as a near-term positive catalyst. Instead, the report said Senate leadership prioritized other legislative business, pushing the decision timeline past the period before lawmakers leave for the August recess. While the proposal was not rejected, the lack of an immediate path to a floor vote reset expectations and prompted renewed selling.
Market reaction across crypto
The token’s drop came as sentiment weakened more broadly. The report noted that as the Senate’s legislative timetable became clearer, crypto markets moved into a defensive posture ahead of the Fed meeting scheduled for July 28–29. Bitcoin briefly fell below $63,500 and Ethereum fell about 4%, contributing to a second wave of deleveraging across large-cap cryptocurrencies.
For XRP, the impact was more pronounced. CoinGecko data cited in the report showed XRP sliding from roughly $1.10 on July 27 to nearly $1.05 during July 28 trading, followed by a gradual return of buyers that pushed the price toward $1.08 by July 29.
Leverage unwound as traders revised timing bets
Liquidation data in the report showed the shift in positioning occurred quickly. Over the prior 24 hours, approximately $4.25 million worth of XRP positions were liquidated, with long positions accounting for about $3.64 million and short liquidations around $614,000. The imbalance suggested the decline was driven primarily by forced exits of leveraged longs rather than aggressive short selling.
As those leveraged positions were flushed out, forced selling reportedly eased, helping XRP stabilize around the $1.05 support zone before recovering. The report also indicated that relatively limited short liquidations meant the rebound had not developed into a broader squeeze dynamic.
Separately, the report said net inflows into U.S. spot XRP exchange-traded funds helped absorb some of the selling pressure. It also described institutional demand as remaining relatively stable beneath the surface, which may have limited how far prices fell despite heightened legislative uncertainty.
What the charts suggest
Technically, the report characterized XRP as trading within a broader bearish framework despite the rebound. On the daily chart, XRP remained below several key exponential moving averages—20-day, 50-day, 100-day and 200-day—currently referenced by the report as near $1.10, $1.13, $1.22 and $1.41. The report said the stacked layout of those averages continues to favor sellers, meaning rallies may face layered resistance.
Momentum indicators, however, were described as improving modestly. The report noted the daily Relative Strength Index had climbed to around 45 after weakening earlier in the month, indicating bearish momentum had moderated but buyers had not regained full control because the RSI remained below the neutral 50 level.
On the 4-hour timeframe, the report cited early signs that selling pressure is cooling. It said XRP rebounded after testing the lower Bollinger Band in the $1.04–$1.05 area and climbed back toward the middle Bollinger Band near $1.08. The report also pointed to MACD trends showing less negative histogram readings and a gradual convergence between the MACD line and the signal line—conditions often associated with waning bearish momentum, though confirmation would require a bullish crossover supported by stronger buying.
In the near term, the report identified the 20-day EMA near $1.10 as the first resistance area. Above that, it said the next levels to watch were around the 50-day EMA near $1.13 and, if buying strengthens, the 100-day EMA near $1.22. On the downside, it highlighted the $1.05 zone as the first major support, followed by the psychological $1.00 level if selling returns.
Next, traders will likely watch whether the CLARITY Act’s congressional path improves after the Senate delay and whether any legislative calendar updates bring the bill closer to a floor vote. With the Fed meeting already in focus earlier in the week, investors will also be attentive to follow-through in broader market risk appetite and to additional data on XRP spot ETF flows, which the report suggested have been helping cushion price swings.
