XRP crosses $1. 25 and short sellers lose $6 million: Why this matters for crypto traders

XRP just jumped past $1. 25, pushing short sellers to cover their bets at a cost of $6 million in 24 hours. This surge didn’t come quietly—it broke a three-month downward pattern and did it on the highest trading volume since early June. Traders who bet against XRP now face a tough choice: hold tight or cut losses as the price keeps climbing. What pushed XRP higher? A mix of technical wins and fresh demand. The coin cleared key price levels tied to Fibonacci ratios, signaling a potential shift in momentum. Meanwhile, traders with long positions now outnumber shorts on Binance by nearly three to one. If XRP keeps rising, those short sellers could face a domino effect of forced exits.Behind the price move, South Korea’s Upbit exchange is playing a big role. It now handles over 30% of XRP wallet activity, up from just 13% a week ago. This sudden spike in Asian demand lines up with steady inflows into XRP exchange-traded funds, which have pulled in $1. 4 billion total so far. The timing suggests investors are betting on XRP as more than just a speculative asset. Ripple’s leadership is also adding fuel to the fire. Executives recently projected the company could hit $1 billion in annual revenue by late 2026, even without counting any XRP holdings. This reframes Ripple not as a crypto-dependent firm but as a payments infrastructure player—good news for long-term confidence. The next test comes if XRP can close a trading day above $1. 24. Past that point, a clear path opens toward higher targets like $1. 29 and $1. 36. But if the price dips below $1. 20 again, the breakout weakens and the downward trend could resume. Traders need to watch these levels closely because a false breakout often leads to sharp reversals.