Two prominent crypto analysts have separately flagged what they describe as a significant technical setup for the XRP price, with one pointing to a chart structure he has tracked since October 2023 that continues to map the asset’s price action — and the other capturing an unusual moment that briefly showed XRP trading at over $43,000 on a major price aggregator.
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On-chain analyst and technical researcher Dark Defender (@DefendDark) returned to X with an update on a chart he originally published on October 25, 2023, arguing that the structure has remained the only technical framework for XRP that has stayed valid across the intervening period.
According to the post, the chart continues to track the XRP price behavior accurately — a claim that carries weight given the asset’s volatile journey across two and a half years of market cycles.
XRP's price 2023 fractal remains valid anticipating an explosion in the crypto's value. Source: DarkDefender via X
XRP’s Technical Structure
Dark Defender’s analysis is built around Elliott Wave theory and Fibonacci extension levels, a framework that maps price action against recurring structural patterns rather than short-term momentum signals. Per his broader body, the analyst has identified key Fibonacci targets above current prices including levels around $2.58 and $3.56, with the correction phase that defined XRP’s recent price action now appearing technically resolved on the weekly chart.
The analyst has stated that a directional move is viewed as inevitable as long as the XRP price maintains its critical support structure — a condition the chart currently satisfies.
The longer-term targets referenced in his analysis extend considerably higher, with a Wave 5 projection pointing toward $5.85 and extended Fibonacci levels beyond that, according to reporting by BYDFi based on his prior chart work. These remain projections contingent on the broader wave structure holding.
The only chart that has stayed valid since 25-Oct-23.
Just look at the levels, how well they played.
It will continue.
Gigantic success for #XRP is on its way.
— Dark Defender (@DefendDark) May 10, 2026
The $43,032 Moment
Separately, crypto analyst Steph Is Crypto (@Steph_iscrypto) posted a video on X capturing an unusual data anomaly — the XRP price briefly traded at $43,032.32 on a major cryptocurrency price tracking platform. The currency converter on the same page simultaneously listed XRP’s actual rate at approximately $0.57, confirming the figure as a platform glitch rather than a genuine market event.
The incident drew immediate attention across the XRP community. While clearly a data error, it arrived at a moment when technical analysts are already constructing bullish frameworks for the asset — adding an ironic footnote to a week of mounting analyst conviction around XRP’s direction. However, the analyst took the glitch as an expression of future possibilities for the XRP price.
The Bigger Picture for the XRP Price
XRP currently trades near the $2.11 area, sitting above key support but below the resistance levels that analysts identify as the threshold for a confirmed breakout. The CLARITY Act, currently advancing through the US Senate, remains the most significant near-term regulatory catalyst for the asset — with digital prediction markets pricing the odds of passage in 2026 at over 60%.
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A clean legislative outcome, combined with the technical structure Dark Defender describes, could prove to be the combination that finally resolves XRP’s prolonged consolidation into something more decisive.
XRP price trends sideways on the daily chart. Source: XRPUSD on Tradingview
As of this writing, the XRP price trades at around $2.11, holding above critical support as the technical and regulatory setup that analysts have been building toward enters what many in the community consider a pivotal window.
Cover image from Grok, XRPUSD Chart from Tradingview