XRP Soars to Three-year High Amid Legal Battle
18 Nov, 2024 ● Coin news
XRP surged past the $1 mark on Nov. 16, reaching a three-year high of $1.26, fueled by optimism around a more favorable regulatory climate for cryptocurrencies and the possible resolution of Ripple's long-standing legal dispute with the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).
However, since reaching $1.26, XRP's price has pulled back significantly, prompting speculation about whether this level might represent a short-term peak.
On Nov. 17, XRP’s decline coincided with large inflows, totaling tens of millions of dollars, into Bitstamp and other exchanges, as reported by Whale Alert. Notably, a whale transferred 10 million XRP tokens, valued at $11.3 million, into Bitstamp, likely aiming to lock in profits from the recent rally.
The timing of these major XRP transfers is significant, occurring alongside a notable change in the distribution of XRP holdings.
Data from CryptoQuant indicates that the supply of XRP on exchanges has increased, with XRP reserves on exchanges rising by 44 million tokens from Nov. 13 to Nov. 16, alongside a 56% price surge.
This increase suggests that whale profit-taking may have contributed to the 13% decline from the Nov. 16 high.
On top of this, Santiment reports that retail traders have also been selling into “any small XRP rally,” with wallets holding under 1 million XRP collectively dumping 75.7 million tokens, worth $87.9 million, over the past week.
Interestingly, while retail traders sold off their XRP, whale and shark wallets—holding between 1 million and 100 million tokens—accumulated more, adding 453.3 million tokens, valued at $526.3 million, which could be a bullish sign.
The volatility has taken a toll on long traders, as XRP’s rapid pullback from $1.26 led to significant liquidations.
According to CoinGlass, the XRP derivatives market saw liquidations totaling over $12.6 million on Nov. 17, with $9.1 million in long positions, and liquidations continuing to increase at the time of reporting. In just four hours, more than $3.9 million in leveraged long positions were wiped out.
Liquidating long positions generally results in further price drops, as it often involves selling off the asset.
CoinGlass data also shows XRP's RSI indicating overbought conditions in four out of six timeframes, suggesting a possible correction, while the RSI of Bitcoin is overbought in three out of six timeframes.
Overbought conditions typically signal a likelihood of a price correction, but many traders remain optimistic about XRP’s rally.
Independent trader Chris McCrypto noted on X that “it’s so early in the cycle for such an XRP pump” and predicted that XRP could reach $15-$20.
Meanwhile, pseudonymous analyst CryptoCharged suggested that the current pullback has retested key support levels “to perfection” and that a further drop to the $0.65-$0.75 range could reset the chart for another upward move.
Sources:
https://cointelegraph.com/news/xrp-price-retreats-2-multiyear-high-top-in
https://www.tradingview.com/x/K2pqOO3n/
https://x.com/whale_alert/status/1857911692815974495
https://x.com/santimentfeed/status/1857854776769130794
