XRP is at $1.05. Flat-ish on the day. Down almost 8% on the week. Still clinging to $1 (live XRP price on CoinGecko).
But the price is not the most interesting thing happening to XRP right now. The most interesting thing is a fight. Ripple’s CEO just publicly blamed one of Bitcoin’s biggest names for hurting the entire crypto market. And honestly? He has a point.
Let me break it down.
The feud: Garlinghouse vs Saylor
Brad Garlinghouse runs Ripple, the company behind XRP. This week he went on the record and pointed a finger straight at Michael Saylor’s Strategy.
His argument: Strategy’s preferred-stock funding model, the financial machine Saylor built to buy Bitcoin, is “financial engineering” that distracted the market and ultimately hurt crypto. His evidence? STRC, one of those Strategy securities, just slid to a record low. And as we covered, Strategy’s stock has now fallen below the value of its own Bitcoin. The machine is sputtering.
Now, keep in mind the obvious: Garlinghouse runs a Bitcoin rival. He has a reason to take shots. But that does not mean he is wrong. Strategy’s funding model genuinely is under stress, its premium has inverted, and the broader market did get caught up in the “buy Bitcoin with leverage” narrative that is now unwinding. So this is a self-interested jab that also happens to land.
Why this matters for XRP
Here is the connection. Garlinghouse is drawing a line between two philosophies. On one side, Saylor’s leverage-and-financial-engineering approach. On the other, Ripple pitching XRP as actual utility, real-world payments, institutional rails, regulated products. The subtext: XRP is the grown-up in the room.
Whether you buy that or not, it is a deliberate positioning move at a moment when the leverage model is visibly struggling. Ripple wants XRP seen as the substance to Strategy’s spectacle. The timing, right as Strategy’s stock falls below its Bitcoin, is not an accident.
Meanwhile, the CLARITY Act is stuck on one provision
XRP’s biggest catalyst, the CLARITY Act, is still jammed up, and now we know exactly where. The sticking point is Section 604.
That provision would establish that non-custodial blockchain developers are not money transmitters. Sounds technical, but it is the fight. Nearly 100 Catholic bishops and an anti-trafficking group argue Section 604 creates loopholes that traffickers and criminals could exploit. Crypto advocates fire back that it just protects software developers from being regulated like banks. Either way, the bill is stuck behind this argument, with a July 17 hearing as the next checkpoint.
So XRP’s catalyst is not just “delayed” in some vague way. It is hung up on one specific, contested section. That is worth knowing.
The price reality
Back to the chart, because it is tense. XRP at $1.05 is a nickel above $1.00, the floor it has defended this entire correction. It is the weakest major coin this week. Sellers keep breaking support. Every bounce fails.
But here is a fact that does not get enough attention: XRP exchange balances have dropped to 2021 lows, with over 570 million tokens moving into long-term wallets this year. Translation: holders are pulling XRP off exchanges and sitting on it, not selling. That is accumulation, quietly, under an ugly price.
The levels
Down: $1.00 is the line. Below it, $0.95 then $0.90.
Up: reclaim $1.12, then $1.20 to say the downtrend is breaking.
Bottom line
XRP at $1.05 is fighting for $1 while its CEO picks a very public, very pointed fight with Saylor, and lands some real hits. The CLARITY Act is stuck on Section 604 until at least July 17. Near-term, the price is weak, no sugarcoating it.
But underneath: exchange balances at 2021 lows, holders accumulating, ETF inflows continuing, Ripple positioning XRP as the substance play while the leverage model wobbles. Watch $1.00 above everything. Hold it and XRP survives this. Lose it and the next leg opens. That is where things stand, and it comes down to a nickel.
FAQ
What is the XRP price today?
XRP is trading at $1.05 on June 28, 2026, roughly flat on the day but down almost 8% on the week, the weakest major coin, clinging to the critical $1.00 level.
What did Ripple’s CEO say about Saylor?
Ripple CEO Brad Garlinghouse called Strategy’s preferred-stock funding model “financial engineering” that distracted the market and hurt crypto, pointing to STRC’s slide to a record low as evidence. He runs the company behind XRP, a Bitcoin rival.
What is Section 604 of the CLARITY Act?
Section 604 would establish that non-custodial blockchain developers are not money transmitters. Anti-trafficking groups argue it creates loopholes criminals could exploit, while crypto advocates say it protects developers from bank-like regulation. The dispute has stalled the bill.
Will XRP fall below $1?
It is a real risk. At $1.05, XRP is a nickel from $1.00, the floor it has defended all correction. Sellers keep breaking support. However, exchange balances at 2021 lows show holders are accumulating, not selling.
What are the key XRP levels to watch?
Down: $1.00 is critical, then $0.95 and $0.90. Up: XRP needs to reclaim $1.12, then $1.20 to signal the downtrend is breaking.
