XRP Crashes 17% in Biggest Single-Day Drop Since 2025 as $46 Million in Leveraged Longs Get Liquidated

XRP suffered a brutal 17% crash on Thursday, marking its steepest one-day decline since October 2025, as a cascade of leveraged liquidations sent shockwaves through the crypto market. The token plummeted to around $1.25, outpacing even Bitcoin’s 10% slide to $65,000 and Ethereum’s drop below $2,000.

This devastating selloff extended XRP’s weekly losses to nearly 30%, erasing billions in market capitalization. The once $210 billion asset now sits at approximately $75 billion, trading 45% below its January 2026 high of $2.41. The carnage comes amid deteriorating market conditions that have exposed crypto’s biggest weakness: extreme volatility and leveraged trading risks.

$46 Million in Leveraged Positions Vaporized in Hours

Data from CoinGlass reveals the brutal mechanics behind XRP’s collapse. Roughly $46 million in derivatives positions were liquidated within 24 hours, with an astonishing $43 million coming from long positions that were caught offsides. The bloodbath intensified late Thursday when XRP broke below the critical $1.44 support level, triggering a domino effect of stop-loss orders and forced liquidations.

The broader crypto market wasn’t spared either. Thursday saw approximately $1.42 billion in total crypto liquidations, with long positions accounting for $1.24 billion of that total. This represents one of the most severe capitulation events in recent memory, surpassing even the chaos seen during the Luna and FTX collapses.

Institutional Money Keeps Flowing Despite Price Carnage

Here’s where the story takes an unexpected turn. While retail traders were getting liquidated left and right, institutional investors were quietly accumulating through XRP spot ETFs. Since launching in November 2025, these ETFs have recorded inflows on all but four trading days, according to SoSoValue data.

This week alone, despite the 17% price crash, XRP ETFs pulled in roughly $24 million in net inflows, bringing cumulative totals past the $1.2 billion mark. This institutional resilience stands in stark contrast to Bitcoin ETFs, which hemorrhaged approximately $545 million in outflows on Wednesday alone.

Ripple’s Regulatory Wins Can’t Stop the Bloodbath

The timing of this crash is particularly ironic. Just days before XRP’s collapse, Ripple secured major regulatory victories that should have provided a floor for the token. The company announced full approval of an Electronic Money Institution license from Luxembourg’s financial regulator, enabling expanded EU operations. This follows a UK Financial Conduct Authority license granted in January, bringing Ripple’s global license count to over 75.

Yet none of these fundamental positives could overcome the overwhelming selling pressure. This disconnect highlights a harsh reality in crypto markets: even the most positive news can be rendered meaningless when leveraged positions unwind and broader market sentiment turns negative.

The post-XRP price action underscores that the token’s valuation remains hostage to trading dynamics and momentum rather than its growing real-world utility. As traders now eye the psychological $1.00 level, the question isn’t whether XRP can recover—it’s whether the next catalyst will be institutional adoption or another wave of forced liquidations.

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