XRP has surged roughly 50% this week, marking its strongest performance in 21 months as Treasury buyback optimism and a massive short squeeze fuel the rally.
XRP$1.48+3.00%XRP has emerged as one of the strongest performers in the latest crypto market rally, climbing roughly 51% this week to around $1.50 and putting it on track for its biggest weekly gain in about 21 months.
The move has significantly outpaced Bitcoin, Ethereum and Solana. But XRP's rally appears to be driven by more than its own market momentum. A combination of broad crypto strength, massive short liquidations and renewed hopes of easier liquidity conditions following a U.S. Treasury bond-buyback announcement has helped fuel the surge.
XRP has outpaced the broader crypto market during the latest rally.
According to the figures provided, XRP climbed about 51% since Monday, reaching approximately $1.50. By comparison, Bitcoin gained around 22% over the same period, while Ethereum and Solana rose roughly 30% and 28%, respectively.
The move marks a dramatic reversal for XRP after a prolonged period of weak price action. Until recently, the token had struggled to keep pace with the broader market and remained close to the psychologically important $1 level.
Related: XRP price stalls near $1 as ETF inflows and open interest point to rising interest
That earlier setup highlighted the unusual gap between XRP's weak price performance and growing activity in derivatives and investment products. The latest rally suggests that the pressure building beneath the surface may now be translating into a much larger price move.
A massive unwinding of bearish positions appears to have played a major role in accelerating XRP's gains.
According to CoinGlass data cited in the source material, nearly $2 billion in XRP short positions were liquidated during the week.
When traders holding leveraged short positions are forced to close, exchanges buy back the underlying asset to cover those positions. That buying pressure can create a feedback loop: rising prices trigger more liquidations, which in turn can push prices even higher.
The same dynamic has been visible across the broader crypto market.
Related: Crypto bears burned as short liquidations hit $1.48 billion
The wider market has already experienced several waves of forced short covering as Bitcoin moved from the mid-$60,000 range toward $80,000. XRP's stronger percentage gain suggests that the token has been particularly sensitive to this shift in market positioning.
The broader rally began gaining momentum after the U.S. Treasury announced plans to increase the size of certain long-term bond buyback operations.
The Treasury said it would raise the maximum size of these buybacks from $2 billion to at least $4 billion per operation, with the expanded program scheduled to run from September 9 through November 4. The move came after long-term Treasury yields climbed sharply, raising concerns about liquidity and stress in the bond market.
Related: US Treasury doubles long-term debt buybacks to $4 billion as yields surge
The announcement was interpreted by some investors as a positive signal for liquidity and risk assets, helping support Bitcoin, Ethereum, XRP and other cryptocurrencies. Earlier coverage of the broader market rally also identified Treasury buybacks, improving liquidity expectations and short liquidations as major catalysts behind the move.
However, some market participants have taken the interpretation a step further.
The Treasury's buyback announcement has sparked speculation about whether policymakers could eventually move toward yield curve control, or YCC.
Yield curve control is a much more aggressive policy tool than ordinary bond-market operations. Under YCC, a central bank sets a target or ceiling for longer-term bond yields and commits to buying bonds as needed to maintain that level.
Such policies can increase liquidity and encourage risk-taking across financial markets.
For now, however, the Treasury's announced bond buybacks should not automatically be treated as yield curve control. The current operations are described as liquidity-management measures, and speculation about a future shift toward YCC remains a market interpretation rather than an announced policy.
Still, the possibility of easier liquidity conditions has clearly improved sentiment toward risk assets.
Despite the explosive weekly rally, XRP has not fully reversed its longer-term decline.
The move to around $1.50 represents only a partial recovery from the sharp fall that took XRP from its July 2025 record high near $3.65 to below $1 earlier this month.
That means the latest surge is significant, but it does not automatically confirm a sustained long-term bullish trend.
The next test for XRP will be whether it can hold onto its recent gains after the short-liquidation-driven momentum begins to cool.
If broader liquidity conditions continue improving and crypto market participation remains strong, XRP could benefit from the wider risk-on environment. But after a roughly 50% weekly surge, traders will also be watching for profit-taking and a potential increase in volatility.
For now, XRP has gone from one of the market's laggards to one of its strongest performers and the combination of Treasury-driven liquidity optimism, a massive short squeeze and renewed market momentum has placed the token firmly back in the spotlight.
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