XRP and the aggregated crypto markets have been facing some turbulence over the past several days and weeks, which has primarily been guided by Bitcoin’s slow grind down to the lower-$8,000 region that has been ongoing since it broke below $9,000 earlier this month.
Analysts are now noting that XRP has been forming bearish divergences in its chart over the past several days, which could mean that further losses are imminent, in spite of the crypto’s increasing utility.
XRP May See Further Bearishness in Near-Term; Will Rock Bottom Support Hold Strong?
At the time of writing, XRP is trading up under 1% at its current price of $0.26, which marks a slight climb from its daily lows of just under $0.26.
Over the past week, the cryptocurrency’s price has declined steeply from highs of just under $0.29, and this recent drop has brought it near its bedrock support level between $0.24 and $0.25, which has consistently been defended by bulls ever since it plummeted from highs of over $3.00 in early-2018.
Although it remains unclear as to how long this support region will hold for, any further Bitcoin downside will likely send XRP reeling to this level, and whether or not it continues to act as strong support will offer investors and analysts alike significant insight into how it will trend throughout the rest of 2019.
One factor that may work against XRP in the near-term is the fact that it formed a bearish engulfing candle during its latest leg down.
Big Cheds, a popular cryptocurrency analyst on Twitter, spoke about this in a recent tweet, saying:
“$XRP #Ripple Daily – Testing key support again after bulls latest advance stalled, resulting in a bearish engulfing.”
One more fundamental development that could help bolster XRP’s utility – which may or may not ultimately be reflected in its price action – is that Coinbase Card recently added support for it, meaning that holders can now directly spend it anywhere they use a credit or debit card for purchases.
“Coinbase card adds XRP support! A VISA debit card connected to the #Coinbase wallet has now supported to Sweden, Romania, Liechtenstein, Iceland, Croatia, Norway, Poland, Denmark, Hungary, and Bulgaria,” Mia Tam, a popular figure within the crypto markets, explained in a recent tweet.
Bitcoin will likely continue guiding the price action of most major altcoins, but it remains unclear as to how XRP’s recent bearish engulfing candle and increasing utility will ultimately impact how it trends for the rest of 2019.