XRP Price Slides as CLARITY Act Setback and Fed Risks Weigh

XRP price came under heavy selling pressure Wednesday as regulatory uncertainty and concerns over Federal Reserve policy weighed on the broader crypto market. XRP retreated from a recent high near $1.45 and briefly fell below $1.23 before staging a modest recovery.

The decline came as Bitcoin traded near $75,700, Ethereum hovered around $2,390, and Solana changed hands close to $97. Total cryptocurrency market capitalization dropped 1.44% over 24 hours to approximately $2.58 trillion, reflecting weaker risk appetite among investors.

Regulatory concerns intensified after the U.S. Senate failed to advance the CLARITY Act. A procedural motion received 49 votes, well below the 60 required to move the legislation forward. The setback reduced expectations that comprehensive crypto market structure legislation could pass before year-end. Ripple maintained that the outcome did not change XRP's established legal status, but investor sentiment remained cautious.

Monetary policy added another layer of uncertainty. The Federal Reserve was set to announce its interest-rate decision following a two-day meeting, with markets pricing roughly a 93% probability of a 25-basis-point rate increase. Such a move would lift the federal funds target range from 3.50%-3.75% to 3.75%-4.00%. Traders are closely watching Fed Chair Kevin Warsh's guidance on inflation, oil prices, and potential additional tightening.

Institutional flows also showed signs of weakness. Spot XRP ETFs recorded no net inflows on September 15, although combined assets remained around $1.41 billion. Meanwhile, U.S. spot Bitcoin ETFs posted $450.33 million in net outflows, led by Fidelity's FBTC and BlackRock's IBIT.

From a technical perspective, XRP needs to recover above $1.28 and $1.31 to ease immediate bearish pressure. Failure to regain those levels could leave $1.23 and $1.20 as key support zones. A daily close below $1.20 may expose $1.14 and the $1.07 swing low, while deeper weakness could bring the $0.93-$0.76 demand zone into focus.

XRP's RSI near 33 suggests the token is approaching oversold territory, but the MACD continues to signal bearish momentum, leaving the price sensitive to Fed guidance and regulatory developments.