XRP’s Q3 Surge: Can It Topple Ethereum’s Throne? The High-Stakes Showdown Ahead

Ripple's XRP is gearing up for a third-quarter rally—but can it really shake Ethereum's iron grip on the market?

The underdog narrative is strong: XRP's recent legal clarity and institutional adoption whispers have traders buzzing. Meanwhile, Ethereum's scaling woes and gas fee circus leave just enough room for doubt.

Smart money's watching two metrics: exchange inflows (hint: whales are accumulating) and developer activity (still ETH's fortress). One thing's certain—the crypto casino never sleeps, and neither do the bagholders.

Closing thought: If XRP flips ETH this quarter, it'll be less about tech and more about Wall Street's short attention span for shiny objects.

XRP/ETH bounces at support as leverage builds 

There’s no doubt, compared to Ethereum’s strong double-digit rally that pushed it past the $2,800 mark by mid-June, XRP’s 7.2% gain over the same period falls noticeably short.

That divergence was crystal clear on the XRP/ETH chart, which hit a five-year high of 0.0013 early in Q2. Since then, the ratio has reversed sharply—dropping 30% to hover NEAR 0.0009 as of press time.

Source: TradingView (XRP/ETH)

However, here’s where things get interesting.

This drawdown included a clear rebound off the 0.0008 support level. Structurally, this suggested the pair may be carving out a local bottom.

Historically, such reversals in XRP/ETH have preceded periods of relative strength for the former. Take Q1 as an example: ETH ended the quarter with a sharp 45.41% drawdown, while XRP held steady with a flat close. 

During that stretch, XRP/ETH surged by nearly 83%. It was a clear signal of capital rotation away from ETH into XRP.

Naturally, the question now is—could Q3 be setting up for a similar reallocation? Especially with Funding Rates rising, hinting that leveraged bets on XRP are starting to build again.

Which L1 will lead the next leg?

According to AMBCrypto, the XRP/ETH divergence isn’t just on charts. Instead, it’s playing out in price action, too. 

On the monthly scale, XRP posted a 2.03% gain from its $2.17 open, while Ethereum slipped 2%, despite bouncing off $2,119.

Under the surface, XRP’s on-chain dynamics are signaling a shift in power. In June alone, the 10 million–100 million XRP whale cohort added nearly 310 million XRP to their bags.

Source: Santiment

This brings their collective holdings to 8.11 billion XRP, making them the most dominant cohort by supply for the first time this cycle.

That’s no trivial move.

Naturally, it strengthens the case for a capital rotation, supported by both technical structure and on-chain conviction.

In fact, with Funding Rates climbing and the XRP/ETH rebound intact, both strategic and speculative players seem to be leaning in.

If this momentum holds, we could be looking at a setup similar to Q1, where XRP flipped the script on Ethereum.

A fresh rotation might just be underway. And this time, XRP’s riding in with serious backing.