XRP Jumps 1.68% as Altcoins Split From Bitcoin’s Monday Slide

XRP climbed 1.68% in the past 24 hours to US$1.42 (C$1.97 at the current 1.3887 USD/CAD rate), making it the standout performer among major altcoins on a day when Bitcoin fell 0.95% to US$76,922 and Ethereum slipped 0.97% to US$2,479.66. The move is notable precisely because it bucked a broadly risk-off session — a sign that XRP’s price action is increasingly decoupling from pure Bitcoin beta on macro-driven down days.

What’s Driving XRP’s Divergence

The catalyst appears rooted in on-chain settlement activity on the XRP Ledger (XRPL). Weekly DEX volume on the XRPL crossed US$1.1 billion for the second consecutive week as of September 13, a level last seen during the 2024 post-ETF euphoria cycle. Ripple’s cross-border payment corridors — particularly its On-Demand Liquidity (ODL) product — have seen renewed institutional uptake from Asian and Latin American payment processors, compressing corridor spreads and generating consistent buy-side demand for XRP as a bridge asset.

Separately, the XRPL’s native AMM (Automated Market Maker), activated in early 2024, has now accumulated over US$340 million in total value locked, up 18% month-over-month according to XRPL Foundation data. Rising TVL signals genuine protocol utility rather than speculative positioning — a distinction institutional allocators are increasingly drawing in 2026’s more discerning altcoin environment.

Canadian Angle: OSC-Regulated XRP Products

Canadian investors have direct, regulated access to XRP exposure. 3iQ Corp., the Toronto-based digital asset manager, lists the 3iQ XRP ETF (ticker: XRPQ) on the Toronto Stock Exchange, one of the few exchange-traded products globally offering pure XRP exposure under a securities regulator’s oversight. XRPQ has seen modest net inflows over the past two weeks, consistent with the price appreciation, though assets under management remain well below its Bitcoin and Ether fund siblings. The OSC’s 2025 framework for crypto asset ETFs gave Canadian retail investors a compliant on-ramp that U.S. investors are still waiting on, as the SEC has yet to approve a spot XRP ETF as of this writing.

Sector Rotation and Altcoin Beta Risk

Today’s session illustrates the sector rotation dynamics playing out beneath the surface of a flat-to-down crypto market. Avalanche (AVAX) also gained, rising 1.30% to US$7.55 (C$10.48), while Cardano fell 1.55% and Polkadot dropped 1.88% — the latter now sitting just below parity at US$0.99. The pattern suggests capital is rotating out of proof-of-stake Layer-1s with stagnant development pipelines and into assets with identifiable near-term catalysts, whether regulatory (XRP) or ecosystem-driven (AVAX’s recent subnet expansions).

Investors should not mistake a single-session outperformance for a structural trend. XRP carries an altcoin beta of approximately 1.4x to Bitcoin on a 30-day rolling basis, meaning a sharp BTC drawdown would likely drag XRP lower despite today’s divergence. With Bitcoin holding the critical US$76,000 support level — a zone that has been tested three times since August — the macro backdrop for all altcoins remains fragile. Position sizing relative to BTC dominance, currently near 58%, is the key risk management lever for Canadian altcoin investors heading into Q4 2026.