Ripple (XRP) Price Falls Below $2 Amid Market Volatility
Ripple (XRP) is trading down at $1.87 on Friday, falling below the $2 level. The cryptocurrency market faces high volatility and economic uncertainty. Since the October 10 flash crash that wiped out over $19 billion in crypto assets, XRP’s retail demand has weakened. This shows a weaker market structure for the token.
XRP ETF Trading Begins Despite Price Drop
The Bitwise XRP ETF started trading Thursday on the New York Stock Exchange. It allows U.S. investors to buy XRP exposure without holding the token directly. Bitwise recorded about $105 million in inflows on its first day.
Both Bitwise and the Canary Capital XRPC ETFs together attracted $118 million. Total net inflows across XRP ETFs reached $411 million, with assets under management of $385 million.
However, XRP futures Open Interest (OI) continues to fall, dropping to $3.57 billion on Friday from $3.79 billion the day before. This is down sharply from $8.36 billion on October 10 and $10.94 billion in late July. The decline in futures OI indicates lower retail interest, limiting XRP’s short-term rebound chances.
Nevertheless, some traders are increasing long positions. The XRP OI-weighted funding rate rose to 0.0072% on Thursday, signaling growing demand for long contracts. More buying in derivatives could help stabilize XRP’s price.
Technical Analysis Shows Strong Downtrend for XRP
XRP is moving toward its April low of $1.61 amid selling pressure. The price is well below key moving averages (50, 100, and 200 EMA) on the 4-hour chart. All these averages are sloping down, confirming a bearish trend.
The MACD indicator shows increasing negative momentum with its lines below zero. The RSI is very low at 23, meaning XRP is oversold but facing continued selling. A rise in RSI and reduction in MACD’s negative histogram could hint at a short-term bounce.
Resistance is strong near $2.44 and at the 50-day EMA around $2.16. XRP needs to break and hold above these levels to change its downtrend. Otherwise, the price may test the April support at $1.61 again.
