Portnoy's $1.5M Bet: A Liquidity Play on XRP's $1.73 Support

Bitcoin's retreat below $80,000 is the immediate catalyst for a broader crypto selloff. This weakness pressured high-beta tokens like XRP, triggering a wave of forced selling as leveraged long positions were liquidated. The breakdown was swift and decisive, with XRP falling from around $1.88 to trade near $1.75.

The move followed a week of extreme volatility, highlighted by a record $98 million withdrawal from a major XRP ETF. That outflow, part of a larger $92.92 million single-day redemption, shattered institutional confidence and broke the critical $1.80 support level that had held since early January. The price action was driven by positioning, not token-specific news, as derivatives data showed more than $70 million in XRP futures liquidations.

Traders now view the $1.74–$1.75 range as the immediate line in the sand. A break below that level opens downside risk toward $1.72 and $1.70, while a recovery needs to reclaim the $1.79–$1.82 zone to neutralize the bearish structure. For now, XRP remains tightly correlated to bitcoin and sensitive to liquidity flows.

The Bet: $1M XRP and $500k BTC at $82k

Dave Portnoy's entry is a stark, high-visibility contrarian signal. He deployed $1 million into XRP and $500,000 into Bitcoin at $82,000, framing the move as buying when there is "blood in the streets." This is a direct bet against the dominant market flow of the past week.

His XRP purchase at roughly $1.73 lands near the lower end of the critical support range. That level, $1.74–$1.75, is where liquidity pools are thin and price action is most vulnerable to a break. By buying here, Portnoy is targeting the precise zone where the recent selloff found its first tentative floor.

The move occurs against a backdrop of record daily outflows. Just a day before his purchase, XRP ETFs saw $92.92 million in redemptions, the largest single-day outflow since launch. This institutional exodus has shattered support and created the very "blood in the streets" scenario Portnoy is exploiting.

The Liquidity Thesis: Support Levels and Flow Catalysts

The immediate technical battleground is the $1.74–$1.75 support zone. A decisive break below this level would open the path toward $1.72 and $1.70, as the thin liquidity there offers little resistance to a momentum-driven selloff. This is the critical line Portnoy's bet is attempting to hold.

For a recovery to gain traction, XRP must reclaim the $1.79–$1.82 zone. That area, which failed earlier in the week, has now flipped into resistance. A sustained break above it is necessary to neutralize the bearish structure and signal that the recent liquidation cascade has run its course.

The ultimate catalyst will be a shift in ETF flow direction. The record $92.92 million in outflows shattered support and created the setup Portnoy is betting on. The next major outflow could accelerate the downside, while a reversal in the flow would validate the contrarian entry and provide the liquidity needed for a bounce.