Sui Dominates 2026 Liquidity While XRP Faces Heavy Short Pressure — What’s Next?

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• Sui leads Layer-1 liquidity growth, signaling strong capital concentration.
  
• XRP trading surged, but price pressure reflects heavy short positioning.
  
• Diverging trends suggest crypto markets are splitting between adoption plays and trading assets.

Capital flows across crypto markets in early 2026 are revealing a clear divide between emerging ecosystem momentum and short-term speculative pressure. While Sui has captured trader attention through rising liquidity and user growth, Ripple’s token XRP is navigating heavy trading activity and mounting short pressure. Together, the trends highlight how investors are balancing long-term positioning with short-term risk management.

Sui Leads Layer-1 Liquidity Race

From January 1 to February 22, Sui recorded roughly $43.4 billion in cumulative token trading volume — the highest among major Layer-1 networks. That figure exceeded competitors such as Cardano and Avalanche, signaling concentrated capital allocation rather than fragmented interest.

The surge wasn’t limited to trading activity alone. Network data shows a sharp increase in new wallet creation, suggesting fresh participants are entering the ecosystem alongside institutional or large-holder positioning. When liquidity growth aligns with account expansion, markets often interpret it as structural adoption rather than speculative noise.

If this trend continues, Sui could strengthen its position as one of 2026’s dominant Layer-1 narratives, particularly if developers and liquidity providers deepen their presence.

XRP Volume Spikes as Shorts Increase

While Sui benefited from inflows, XRP saw a surge in trading driven largely by bearish positioning. Across major exchanges including Upbit, Coinbase, and Binance, spot volume climbed sharply, pushing combined activity above $710 million. Futures markets added several billion more in leveraged trades.

Despite the surge, XRP’s price fell roughly 6%, breaking below a key support zone before stabilizing. The move suggested traders were hedging or betting against the asset amid broader market weakness.

Fundamentals Still Support XRP’s Long-Term Case

Short-term pressure contrasts with XRP’s improving on-chain metrics. Activity on the XRP Ledger has increased significantly, with daily successful transactions jumping to around 2.5 million. Meanwhile, XRP’s real-world-asset tokenization market cap recently overtook that of Solana, indicating growing institutional experimentation with the network.

Policy developments also add a supportive backdrop, with XRP included in proposed digital asset reserve discussions alongside assets like Bitcoin.

Also Read: Wall Street Enters Crypto’s Next Phase: SUI ETF Launch Meets Ethereum’s $17B Boom

The divergence between Sui’s structural growth and XRP’s leveraged volatility illustrates how crypto cycles often split into two tracks: ecosystems attracting long-term capital, and large-cap tokens absorbing short-term trading flows.

If Sui maintains liquidity expansion while XRP stabilizes above key technical levels, both assets could play important but different roles in the next market phase — one driven by ecosystem adoption, the other by institutional infrastructure and payment-focused use cases.

Disclaimer: The information in this article is for general purposes only and does not constitute financial advice. The author’s views are personal and may not reflect the views of Chain Affairs. Before making any investment decisions, you should always conduct your own research. Chain Affairs is not responsible for any financial losses.