In brief
- XRP last week broke a new record of $3.65.
- It dropped 15% from that high.
- But XRP could still move higher as it’s a favorite with retail investors, one analyst told Decrypt.
After a wild run, XRP has retreated, erasing its gains of last week.
The coin was recently trading for $3.09, according to crypto data provider CoinGecko, after hitting a new record of $3.65 last Friday—a more than 15% drop.
The decline comes amid a wider market swoon in which most major altcoins have fallen. Solana and Dogecoin were off 1.3% and 2.2% over the past 24 hours.
Arca Director of Research Katie Talati told Decrypt that macroeconomic factors and general crypto market exhaustion are behind the drop.
“We get these really violent moves higher—which you don’t necessarily see in traditional markets—and as a result, you end up having these pullbacks,” she said, referring to the wider altcoin market.
Talati added that investors are now waiting to see if the U.S. Federal Reserve
Will cut interest rates at its scheduled meetings. President Trump has pressured Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell to cut rates.
Crypto and other risk-on assets benefit from low-interest rate environments that boost financial liquidity.
XRP’s new high last week came after seven years, as the token missed a top during the last bull market of 2021. XRP’s new all-time high underscores investors’ belief in Ripple’s vision for “a regulatory-compliant blockchain for institutions,” Matt Kreiser, a research analyst at crypto analytics platform Messari, told Decrypt last week. “It’s a validation of everything they’ve been doing and working towards.”
The coin’s founder, Chris Larsen, was spotted moving over $140 million of the asset to exchanges—signalling that he (and perhaps other big investors) were ready to cash out once the coin surged upwards.
Still, the coin could still go higher, Talati said, noting that XRP has always been a favorite with retail investors. Following the recent end of a long-running lawsuit with the SEC, buyers could now see the coin as a “de-risked” investment, she said.
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