XRP Slides to $1.04 Amid ETF Outflows and Senate Clarity Act Delays

• XRP fell approximately 3.5% this week, trading near $1.03 on August 6, 2026, as a combination of ETF outflows and regulatory uncertainty weighed on sentiment.
• The US Senate Clarity Act was removed from the legislative calendar ahead of the August recess, pushing the vote to September or later.
• A $3.58 million outflow from the Bitwise XRP ETF signaled short-term caution, contrasting with steady inflows into Bitcoin and Ethereum ETFs.
• Technical analysis shows XRP breaking below a descending triangle support, with the $1.0362 Bollinger Band lower boundary as the next critical floor.
• Despite price weakness, cumulative spot XRP ETF inflows remain positive at $1.51 billion, indicating sustained institutional interest.

XRP traded down approximately 1.65% on August 6, 2026, reaching a weekly low of $1.04. The decline coincided with a $3.58 million net outflow from spot XRP ETFs on August 5, entirely attributed to Bitwise's fund. While cumulative net inflows across all spot XRP ETFs remain positive at $1.51 billion, this single day of outflows signaled a shift in short-term market sentiment.

Regulatory uncertainty also contributed to the pullback. The US Senate Clarity Act, which aims to establish clearer crypto market rules, was removed from the legislative calendar before the August recess. With only two session days remaining, no cloture vote was scheduled, pushing the possibility of a vote to September or later. This delay has heightened caution among traders, as the absence of comprehensive US crypto legislation is viewed as a drag on institutional sentiment.

On August 6, XRP broke decisively below the lower trendline of a descending triangle pattern that had formed since May highs above $1.50. The token dropped 1.29% to settle at $1.0476, with the Bollinger Band lower boundary at $1.0362 serving as the next immediate technical support. A daily close below this level would remove the last major technical floor before the $1.00 round number.

Derivatives data reinforced the bearish pressure. Trading volume surged 51.62% to $2.06 billion, while open interest rose slightly. Liquidation data revealed that long positions absorbed nearly all the pain, with $5.92 million in longs liquidated compared to just $120,360 in shorts. Despite the price breakdown, account-level ratios on Binance and OKX remained skewed heavily long, indicating a divergence between bullish positioning and bearish price action.

Spot XRP ETFs recorded their first outflow since July, with Bitwise moving $3.58 million out of its XRP product while simultaneously adding $12 million to its Bitcoin and Ethereum ETFs. This contrast suggests institutional investors are rotating capital from underperforming XRP into the larger-cap assets Bitcoin and Ethereum. At the time, XRP lagged behind the two largest cryptocurrencies, falling 1.10% over 24 hours to around $1.05, while Bitcoin and Ethereum posted gains.

Year-to-date, XRP remains the weakest performer of the three, down about 43% compared to declines of 26% for Bitcoin and 36% for Ethereum. The Grayscale XRP Trust sold $180.78 million in XRP during H1 2026 to fund redemptions, reducing holdings from 122.23 million to 55.04 million tokens. This significant outflow, driven by investor withdrawals and fee payments, occurred despite the fund's XRP price declining over 40% year-to-date.

Despite these headwinds, institutional demand appeared resilient. XRP ETF products recorded a $3.45 million net inflow on August 6, marking the second positive day in August. Cumulative net inflows reached $1.51 billion, with total net assets at $964.21 million. Analysts interpret these steady inflows as a sign of continued institutional interest separate from the short-term noise surrounding scams and regulatory scheduling.

Evernorth’s Chief Business Officer, Sagar Shah, published an analysis arguing that XRP is being evaluated by the wrong metric. Shah contended that price is merely a snapshot, whereas XRP’s value lies in its function as settlement infrastructure, liquidity provision, and a tool for tokenized assets. He suggested that utility adoption, rather than daily price fluctuations, should be the primary indicator for investors.

Flare's FXRP token was approved as collateral within Sentora's RLUSD vault on Morpho, allowing holders to bridge to Ethereum and borrow against their positions. This represents a step forward for XRP's utility in decentralized finance, though analysts note that such utility gains typically build slowly and do not immediately offset short-term price volatility. The combination of fear-driven retail selling and policy uncertainty created a temporary dip, while underlying ETF metrics remained stable.