This past Monday brought notable challenges for Ethereum, Dogecoin, and Avalanche as they faced a downturn in the market. However, XRP bore the brunt with a substantial decline in value over a seven-day period ending Monday on the U.S. East Coast. As New York's stock markets closed, Ripple's tokens registered a steep fall of over 7%, marking the most significant drop among major cryptocurrencies during the same period.
The sharp drop in XRP's value can be largely attributed to a dramatic decrease in trading volumes on major cryptocurrency exchanges such as Binance, Kraken, and KuCoin.
Impressively, XRP's daily trading volume on these platforms plummeted from $37.5 billion at the onset of December to a mere $2.5 billion by Sunday evening. It's important to note that this decline follows a period of remarkable performance in November and December, largely bolstered by political events in the U.S.
During this time, XRP's price significantly outperformed its peers, becoming the standout performer among cross-border settlement tokens for the year. From January 1 to December 25, XRP posted a 247% annual gain, eclipsing Bitcoin's 126%, Solana's 75%, and Ethereum's 49%. Given this extraordinary performance, it’s unsurprising that traders anticipated a potential decline in Ripple's price and volume, aligning with a general trend of mean reversion in the cryptocurrency market. Despite declines in trading volumes for other cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin and Ethereum, XRP's drop has been particularly pronounced this month.
Interestingly, Ripple managed a 10% price increase in December without significant volume, suggesting potential for a more robust recovery when trading volumes return.
The recent seven-day price decline presents a strategic opportunity for altcoin investors to secure Ripple at a relatively lower value compared to prices earlier in December. Renowned crypto analyst Zach Rector has voiced a strong opinion, labeling XRP as "incredibly undervalued."
Technical analyses using Fibonacci and Elliot Wave suggest a bullish reversal could be on the horizon as we enter January, provided XRP maintains a price above key support at $2. Esteemed chart analyst Peter Brandt is eyeing a target of $2.71 for Ripple soon, while MikyBull Crypto, another respected analyst, predicts a possible surge to $4 in the near future.
The week has been challenging for XRP, with its 24-hour trading volume decline being particularly severe. However, analysts remain optimistic about a potential rebound, potentially presenting investors with intriguing buying opportunities.