XRP Price Climbed Above $1.40

XRP price has climbed above $1.40, as renewed buying pressure and improving XRP Ledger activity support the latest move.

The rally comes after a sharp short squeeze in the derivatives market, while traders are also watching the upcoming XRPL Batch V1.1 upgrade.

Why Is XRP Price Climbing?

One major driver has been forced buying from short-position liquidations.

On September 15, XRP recorded about $2.02 million in short liquidations in one hour, compared with $1.58 million in long liquidations. The imbalance helped push XRP through the $1.38 - $1.40 resistance area and toward a short-term high near $1.44.

Related: XRP short squeeze: $2.02M wiped in one hour, 851% imbalance

The move came around the same period as major U.S. macro and regulatory events, including the Federal Reserve decision and the failed Senate vote on the CLARITY Act.

XRP initially fell sharply after the CLARITY Act failed to advance. However, Ripple said the vote did not change XRP's existing legal position. XRP subsequently recovered as the broader market stabilized.

This recovery follows our recent coverage of the CLARITY Act setback, which showed XRP falling nearly 10% immediately after the Senate vote.

Related: Ripple shows how XRP survived CLARITY Act setback, Strategy says Bitcoin never needed it

XRPL Upgrade Adds Another Catalyst

The XRP Ledger is also approaching an important network upgrade.

The Batch V1.1 amendment received 82.86% validator support after 29 of 35 validators voted in favor. The amendment entered its activation period on September 15 and is expected to activate on September 29, provided the required support remains in place.

The upgrade allows multiple XRPL transactions to be bundled into a single operation. This could simplify activities such as asset swaps, payments and other multi-step transactions.

The approaching activation date gives traders another event to watch as XRP attempts to maintain its recovery.

XRPL Activity Is Also Rising

Recent network data provides another positive signal.

The XRP Ledger processed more than 2.34 million transactions over 24 hours through September 18, an 8.9% daily increase. Daily payment volume also reached roughly 1.16 billion XRP, more than twice its 30-day average, according to data cited by Altcoin Buzz.

Related: XRPL transaction activity as XRP reclaimed $1.43.

The increase in network activity does not guarantee further price gains, but it shows that the latest XRP move is occurring alongside stronger on-chain usage.

XRP Price Faces $1.50 Resistance

From a technical perspective, XRP has now moved back above the $1.40 area that previously acted as resistance.

Traders are watching $1.50 as the next major level. A sustained move above that zone could bring the $1.70 - $2.00 region back into focus.

However, XRP still needs to hold its recent breakout and avoid falling back below the $1.38 - $1.40 area.

For now, the combination of short liquidations, rising XRPL activity and the September 29 Batch upgrade has put XRP back in focus as the token trades above $1.40.