XRP Takes The Lead As Bitcoin’s $80K Reclaim Hits A Liquidity Wall – Glassnode Flags 30% Drop In Spot Momentum

Glassnode said Bitcoin's spot momentum fell 30% over the past week, with spot volume flat at $5.3 billion.

• XRP rose about 3.8% to around $1.44 on Wednesday, outpacing Bitcoin, Ethereum, and Solana. 
• Spot XRP ETFs drew about $1.55 million in inflows on Tuesday, while Bitcoin, Ethereum, and Solana products saw net outflows, according to SoSoValue. 
• Bitcoin traded near $79,000, still below the $80,000 level it lost on September 5 after August payrolls tripled forecasts. 

Ripple’s XRP (XRP) outperformed major cryptocurrencies on Wednesday as Bitcoin (BTC) attempted to claim the $80,000 level after spending much of the past several sessions trapped below it. The performance contrasted with gains of about 1% for Bitcoin, 1.4% for Ethereum (ETH), and less than 2% for Solana (SOL), while XRP was up nearly 3%.

XRP’s price was trading around $1.44 at the time of writing. On Stocktwits, the retail sentiment around XRP remained in the ‘bearish’ zone, with chatter levels staying at ‘low’ levels over the past 24 hours. 

Why Is XRP Rallying?

The relative strength also coincided with the bifurcation of U.S. crypto ETF flows. Spot XRP ETFs saw inflows of about $1.55 million on Tuesday, while Bitcoin saw $46.65M in outflows, followed by Ethereum’s outflow of $24 million, and Solana products posting a net outflow of $667.72K, according to SoSoValue data. 

Crypto trader Michaël van de Poppe said Bitcoin remains range-bound but has held an important support area, keeping a potential move toward $82,700 in view. However, trader Ted Pillows pointed to weakness underneath the rebound. “No spot demand for $BTC right now. Shorts are being closed, which is driving this rally," Pillows said on Wednesday.

Spot Momentum Cools Sharply

Glassnode data also showed Bitcoin spot momentum had pulled back 30% over the past week. After last week's stretched reading, it is now back in the middle of its statistical bands. Spot volume has stayed the same at $5.3 billion, and spot cumulative delta has shrunk from -$84.9 million to -$29.6 million. 

Simply put, this data means that people are less likely to sell and more likely to buy with conviction. Derivative positions are also improving. Open interest in futures has risen 1% to $37.1 billion, above the upper statistical band, Glassnode added. However, long-side funding payments have fallen 32.8% to $1.3 million, meaning leverage is growing without an equally aggressive bid for upside.

What Happened After Bitcoin Last Broke $80K?

BTC rose above $82,000 on September 4 but fell below $80,000 the next day as stronger-than-expected U.S. jobs data sparked expectations of another Federal Reserve rate hike. Non-farm payrolls jumped by 162,000, three times the forecast, while the unemployment rate held at 4.1%. 

Bitcoin's price was trading around $79,000, up roughly 1% over the last 24 hours. On Stocktwits, the retail sentiment around Bitcoin dipped to the ‘bearish’ zone from the ‘neutral’ zone, while chatter remained at ‘normal’ levels in the last 24 hours. 

For updates and corrections, email newsroom[at]stocktwits[dot]com.<