[DigitalToday reporter Yunseo Lee (이윤서)] An analysis said XRP could enter a full-fledged upside breakout zone after volatile trading this week accompanied by investor outflows.

On May 21 (local time), blockchain media outlet The Crypto Basic reported that market analyst MichaelXBT raised the possibility that XRP has reached the end of a falling-wedge pattern on the weekly chart and a breakout could be imminent.

The key is structure rather than price action. XRP entered a correction after hitting an all-time high (ATH) of $3.66 in mid-July 2025. Before a broader market plunge began in October 2025, it was already down 22 percent from its peak. It then continued to post lower rebound highs. MichaelXBT judged that this formed a months-long falling-wedge pattern on the weekly chart.

A falling wedge refers to a phase in which selling pressure weakens as prices move within narrowing downward trend lines. It is generally interpreted as a signal of a shift to an uptrend when the upper resistance line is broken. XRP has repeatedly failed to break this upper resistance line. Between September and October 2025, it tried to break out around $3 but failed. It was blocked again at $2.41 in January 2026.

MichaelXBT analyzed that as the pattern nears its apex, the moment when XRP's direction is decided is also approaching. He said short-term volatility could appear first to shake out less-convicted investors ahead of a full-fledged upside breakout. "It can shake out investors without conviction this week," he said. "Then the breakout will begin."

That view also ties in with other market observations. Analyst Chart Nerd said in March, "XRP's next price move could crush most retail investors." The analyst focused on the point that retail investors have repeatedly sold in fear during volatile phases and then missed the actual rally.

The price level market participants are watching most closely is around $1.50, where the upper resistance line of the falling wedge sits. On the chart, XRP must move above this area for an upside break of the pattern to be established. Another market analyst, Matt Hughes, also said in a recent analysis that XRP needs to post a closing price above $1.51 for the breakout setup to be considered complete.

As a result, short-term volatility is being discussed, but the interpretation is that whether the trend actually turns depends on whether it settles in the $1.50 range. For now, the end of the falling-wedge structure and attempts to break the upper resistance have emerged as simultaneous points to watch.

The core of this analysis lies in the falling wedge formed on the weekly chart and the upper resistance zone rather than the XRP price itself. The market's focus is that whether it breaks through the $1.50 range was presented as the standard that separates short-term volatility from the possibility of a trend reversal.

XRP will shake you out this week. Then the breakout will begin. This is by design. They want the masses out. pic.twitter.com/wjtT3JRxDL