XRP sell-off accelerates as over $20 billion exits in a week

XRP has come under intense selling pressure over the past week, shedding more than $20 billion in market value as broader risk aversion sweeps through the cryptocurrency market.

By press time, XRP’s market capitalization had fallen to $97.31 billion, down from $117.32 billion a week earlier.

Price action has been equally severe, with the token trading near $1.59, marking a decline of more than 17% over the past seven days.

At current levels, XRP is firmly entrenched in a bearish trend, trading well below its 50-day Simple Moving Average (SMA) of $1.94, signaling short-term weakness and sustained downward momentum in recent weeks.

The gap widens further against the 200-day SMA at $2.44, pointing to a prolonged long-term decline and a lack of bullish conviction.

However, the 14-day Relative Strength Index (RSI) at 29.27 sits in oversold territory, suggesting the asset may be undervalued and potentially ripe for a rebound if market sentiment shifts from its current state of extreme fear, despite elevated volatility.

Why XRP is down 

It is worth noting that XRP’s sell-off does not stem from a single project-specific catalyst but rather from a convergence of broader market pressures.

In this context, a crypto-wide downturn set the tone after Bitcoin (BTC) fell below the key $75,000 and $80,000 support levels, triggering a risk-off shift that disproportionately hit higher-volatility tokens like XRP. The resulting selling reflected position unwinds across major cryptocurrencies and altcoins, rather than any deterioration in XRP’s fundamentals.

At the same time, geopolitical tensions in the Middle East further unsettled global markets, pushing investors away from risk assets and sending XRP to its weakest levels since late 2024.

Sentiment was also weighed down by supply concerns tied to Ripple’s routine February escrow release of 1 billion XRP, despite most tokens typically being re-locked.

XRP growth potential 

On the other hand, XRP’s long-term growth case received a fundamentals boost after Billiton Diamond and Ctrl Alt tokenized more than $280 million worth of certified polished diamonds on the XRP Ledger using Ripple Custody. 

The initiative brings real-world assets onto XRPL with on-chain records for ownership, origin, and grading, reinforcing the network’s role in institutional-grade tokenization. 

While broader rollout awaits regulatory approval in Dubai, the deployment highlights rising adoption of XRPL for regulated, high-value asset settlement—supporting demand for the network and strengthening the underlying utility narrative around XRP.

Indeed, this adds to the institutional interest factor, where attention has shifted to the asset through the spot exchange-traded funds (ETFs).

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