XRP has been incurring bearish price action over the past several days which has largely been the result of Bitcoin’s inability to garner any upwards momentum as it slowly grinds lower, cutting deep into the gains that were incurred in late-October when BTC surged to highs of $10,600.
Analysts are now noting that XRP is nearing a critical long-term support that must hold strong in order for the cryptocurrency to climb higher in the near-term, but the risk of further downside is strong presently as hopes regarding a “Swell pump” dissolve.
XRP Visits Key Support Level; Will Bulls Defend It?
At the time of writing, XRP is trading up marginally at its current price of $0.253, which marks a slight climb from its 24-hour lows of just a hair below $0.25, which is a robust region of support for the embattled cryptocurrency.
This support region has been established and tested on multiple occasions in the time since the cryptocurrency plummeted from its all-time highs of over $3.00 that were set in early January of 2018.
This past September, XRP’s bears were able to force the cryptocurrency below this level to lows of $0.23, but this movement was fleeting as bulls quickly stepped up and propelled the cryptocurrency back into the upper-$0.20 region.
Prior to the slow grind down to its current price levels that was sparked earlier this month, XRP had been attempting to form some bullish momentum, which led it as high as $0.32.
One potential factor behind this momentum was Ripple’s Swell conference, which has historically been a bullish catalyst for XRP, but the failure for this momentum to sustain signals that bulls do not have any significant strength presently.
“$XRP: Had this drawn up a few days ago. If this doesn’t pump here, it’s going to be awkward as hell at Swell,” Loma, a popular crypto analyst, explained late last month just prior to Ripple’s conference.
How XRP responds to its ongoing test of its current support level will offer significant insight into which direction the cryptocurrency is heading next, as its failure to incur the annual Swell pump is a bearish sign for the cryptocurrency in the near-term.
“$XRP Imagine holding this crap for a year with the hopes of a Swell pump only to get a bearish retest…” Crypto Dude, another popular cryptocurrency analyst on twitter, said in a recent tweet while pointing to a chart showing the key support level its price is currently pushing up against.
The coming days will likely provide significant insight into where XRP is heading next, which could largely be guided by Bitcoin’s near-term price action.