XRP continues to lose its key support level today. A couple of hours ago, it dived to a monthly low of $0.50, and this can be blamed on a series of unfortunate events happening within its ecosystem and the overall crypto community.
XRP Now
Before anything else, let’s take a quick look at the status of XRP. As of 3:30 PM UTC, it is trading at $0.509, which shows a drop of around 3% on the 24-hour chart of CoinMarketCap. This brings the total market value of its 54.34 circulating supply to $27.67 billion, putting it just below Solana’s $35.92 billion in the crypto rankings based on market cap.
During this period, XRP saw a 57.28% surge in trading volume as $1.45 billion worth of its coins moved between wallet addresses and crypto exchanges. The digital asset crossed between a $0.5026 low and $0.5348 within the timeframe.
XRP is in a Bearish Spot
According to Cointelegraph’s analysis, XRP’s price drop is a part of a marketwide downtrend. As of today, the value of the virtual asset is in a critical position as its values are treading below the key moving averages while the Relative Strength Index (RSI) indicator signals oversold conditions.
No Spot XRP ETF in Sight
Hopes for a spot XRP exchange-traded funds (ETFs) continue to get quashed by the mass media. After the disappointing discovery last year that Grayscale was not planning on filing applications for these new financial instruments, BlackRock also reportedly denied involvement in them. This came despite the latter’s CEO, Larry Fink, expressing his interest in a spot Ether ETF.
SEC v. Ripple Lawsuit
The fate of XRP hangs in balance as the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) versus Ripple case drags on. Recently, the regulator motioned the court to compel the respondent to furnish records of its token sales proceeds from institutional investors throughout 2022 and 2023. In response, the defense lawyers of Ripple asked the court to deny the motion due to its untimeliness and irrelevance to the facts of the case.
It should be noted that Judge Analisa Torres partially ruled in favor of XRP in the determination of its status. Her earlier pronouncements stated that it is not a security in relation to its sale to retail customers. Making things complicated, however, is that the token’s sale to institutions is within the ambit of US securities laws.
Given these, financial institutions are presently reluctant to adopt or even link themselves to XRP until at least the final verdict is laid down.
Paper-Handing Whales
Another factor to blame is the weakening interest of institutions and wealthy individuals in XRP. This is reflected by the enormous exodus of whales with around 100 million to 1 billion tokens from its ecosystem. Interestingly, holders of 10 million to 100 million tokens are seemingly increasing. This could indicate either an active liquidation or an asset redistribution of the bigger whales.
Bitcoin Losing Its Edge
Topping all these is the persistent decline of Bitcoin (BTC) since the massive “sell the news” event in the aftermath of spot Bitcoin ETF approvals. Adding salt to the wound was the latest large-scale BTC sell-offs of Grayscale as investors of its Grayscale Bitcoin Trust (GBTC) cashed their holdings.
Final Thoughts (This is Never a Financial Advice)
The current value of Ripple’s native token remains 86.9% away from its all-time high of $3.84 in January 2018. With no major developments or positive news coming XRP’s way, the downtrend could continue in the days to come. Otherwise, this could prove to be the best entry point for people looking to buy the token at a bargain.