Will the token finally break out of its prolonged consolidation phase?
Although every major breakout attempt from the cross-border token has been halted in the past several months, analysts continue to be highly positive that such a big move is in the making.
Ali Martinez is the latest to outline such an opinion, basing his view on the tightening Bollinger Bands.
Will This One Last?
In his latest post on X on Ripple’s token, the analyst with over 165,000 followers said he is tracking what he called “the tightest Bollinger Band squeeze on the XRP 3-day chart in over a year.” This became possible as the asset has been sitting in a tight range between $1.30 and $1.50 for months, with just a few brief deviations.
“When volatility compresses this tightly, it’s a signal that a violent price expansion is approaching,” Martinez added.
He believes that the current trading range is a “no-trade zone,” and traders should let the market make its move to solidify the breakout confirmation. Recall that XRP has attempted a few of those bullish breakouts in the past several weeks, as it even reached $1.55 last week, but it was halted every time.
“I’m waiting for a clean 3-day candlestick close outside of this range ($1.50-$1.29) to confirm the next major trend direction,” said Martinez.
If the asset finally manages to close above $1.50, then it would signal an “expansion toward my primary target at $1.80.” In contrast, a decisive drop below $1.29 “invalidates the immediate bullish structure and opens the door for a deeper correction back toward the $1.00 psychological support,” Martinez concluded.
Previously, Martinez explained that the SuperTrend indicator had also flashed a buy signal for the first time since January.
Upward Pressure Increases
Fellow analyst CW noted that “upward pressure on XRP is increasing again,” after the downward pressure appeared weak during the most recent rejection. They have noted multiple times in the past few weeks that XRP is on the verge of a bullish breakout as there’s little to no selling pressure left.
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Upward pressure on $XRP is increasing again.
Downward pressure was weak during the decline. And upward momentum is gradually increasing again. pic.twitter.com/aqTEpV2S8z
— CW (@CW8900) May 18, 2026
MikybullCrypto and CRYPTOWZRD have joined the growing number of analysts who expect a serious breakout attempt soon, with the former anticipating a “boom” and the latter seeing risks of a leg down.
Meanwhile, a recent report indicated that Ripple whales have increased their holdings, currently controlling almost 70% of the asset’s total supply.
