For the first time in years, XRP gained some massive momentum when it broke above $0.30 last month, with bulls sending its price rocketing as high as $0.90 on some exchanges before an influx of selling pressure sent it plunging lower.
This rally gave many embattled bag holders an ideal exit opportunity, with the new capital being siphoned in due to investors trying to gain access to the highly anticipated SPARK airdrop that took place this weekend.
It does appear that this was a “sell the news” event, as XRP’s price has been plunging lower ever since the airdrop snapshot took place. It is now in the process of breaking below its key $0.50 support level, despite the strength seen by the rest of the market.
This weakness has struck a heavy blow to its previously bullish market structure and may be emblematic of a wave of imminent selling as disappointed traders and investors move to take profits.
One trader is now noting that XRP is likely to go back to being the “worst-performing major alt” in the market unless there’s a catalyst for change.
XRP Struggles to Gain Momentum Despite Strong Market Conditions
At the time of writing, XRP is trading down just under 4% at its current price of $0.49. This is around where it has been trading throughout the past few days.
There was previously some support at $0.50 that stopped it from seeing any intense decline, but this support is quickly degrading and may not hold for too much longer.
The selling pressure is so intense that XRP is currently bucking an uptrend seen across the entire market, with BTC and ETH stable.
Fading Airdrop Hype Puts the Token in a Bad Position
Luke Martin, a popular cryptocurrency analyst and trader, explained in a recent tweet that he is expecting XRP to potentially go back to being the “worst-performing major altcoin” as its uptrend begins showing signs of faltering.
He notes that there needs to be another airdrop – or some catalyst – to shift the tides back into bulls’ favor.
“XRP is down 13% since the airdrop earlier this weekend was completed. Holders better hope for more airdrops or this could quickly become the worst performing major alt again.”
Image Courtesy of Luke Martin. Source: XRPUSD on TradingView.
Because there appear to be no imminent catalysts for XRP to see any further upside, there’s a strong possibility that further losses are imminent in the near-term.
Featured image from Unsplash. Charts from TradingView.