XRP posted its lowest daily close of the year, putting its defence of the $1 level to the test.

Blockchain media outlet The Crypto Basic reported on Aug. 7 that XRP closed at $1.027 on Aug. 6, its lowest daily close so far in 2026.

Intraday, XRP previously fell to $1.009 on June 26. It recovered that day to avoid an annual low close, but this time it finished trading near the year’s low. Market attention has turned again to the $1 support level. A drop below $1 would be the first since November 2024.

The weakness has coincided with repeated failures to break through technical resistance. Crypto analyst ChartNerd said XRP has continued to be rejected at major moving averages. ChartNerd said XRP faced resistance at the 50-day exponential moving average in 8 of the past 10 weeks. He also said XRP failed to reclaim the 20-day exponential moving average recently, keeping downward pressure to around $1.01.

On the daily chart, XRP also appears to be retesting a demand zone near the June low after an upward support trendline broke. ChartNerd said the current support zone could trigger a short-term rebound. "We can see positive action here," he said. He added that any rebound is more likely to be a relief rally after an oversold move than the start of a trend reversal.

Its relative weakness against bitcoin has also become more pronounced, an assessment said. ChartNerd said XRP looks weaker against bitcoin and has fallen about 17 percent versus BTC since mid-June. He said the underperformance is likely to continue through year-end. He also said traders should be wary of a pattern of lower highs until there is confirmation that market structure has changed.

The debate has continued in the process. Market commentator Jake Claver (제이크 클레이버) said XRP could dip briefly below support and then rebound as in past cycles. But ChartNerd countered that after the recent break in market structure, XRP is more likely to continue lagging bitcoin.

From a supply-and-demand perspective, another view was raised that strong buying demand is waiting at lower price levels. ChartNerd noted that historically such zones have appeared before periods of relative strength in XRP/BTC and rebounds in XRP versus the dollar. As a result, the immediate focus is whether support near $1.01 holds in the short term.

Price action also supports that view. XRP is down 4 percent over the past month and is showing a year-to-date return of 45.42 percent. Bitcoin is up 0.33 percent over the past 24 hours and has gained 4.64 percent over the past month. Against that backdrop, whether XRP can hold the $1.01 level or slips below $1 and extends its weak phase has emerged as a key factor for the near-term trend.

$XRP will more than likely underperform against BTC for the remainder of the year. You can't save a sinking ship when the hole was only recently just blown in https://t.co/oZoykaotFh