XRP slumped more than 19% over the past 24 hours to around $1.22, emerging as the worst-performing major cryptocurrency as Bitcoin fell about 7% on Thursday. The sharp decline was driven largely by forced selling in derivatives markets, highlighting the extent to which leveraged positioning has amplified recent losses. Data from CoinGlass showed that roughly $46 million worth of XRP positions were liquidated in the past 24 hours. Bullish bets accounted for about $43 million of that total, indicating that most of the losses stemmed from long positions being wiped out as prices broke key technical levels. Chart patterns from the session showed a steady decline through most of the day, followed by a sharp drop late in trading. Market participants described the move as consistent with a scenario in which buyers gradually step aside until a final wave of stop-loss orders and margin calls triggers a rapid sell-off. Fundamentals fail to support sentiment The slump has occurred despite a series of developments aimed at strengthening XRP’s institutional and decentralized finance use cases. Earlier in the week, Flare and Hex Trust announced institutional access for FXRP minting and FLR staking. The structure is designed to allow institutions to use XRP in decentralized finance applications without selling the underlying token. However, the announcement failed to lift market sentiment. Traders appeared unconvinced that the initiative would translate into meaningful near-term demand or that large-scale institutional flows were imminent. Separately, XRP-linked Ripple secured e-money licenses in Luxembourg and added Hyperliquid to its institutional prime brokerage platform, Ripple Prime. While such developments can support valuations during broader market uptrends, they had little impact in the current risk-off environment. Technical breakdown raises downside risk From a technical perspective, XRP’s decline has weakened its near-term structure. The move below the $1.44 level effectively turned a former support zone into overhead resistance. With that area now acting as a ceiling, traders are increasingly focused on the $1.00 mark as the next major psychological level. There is limited recent trading history between current prices and that threshold, increasing the risk of accelerated moves if selling pressure persists. Market participants said the current price action resembles a leverage unwind framed as a fundamentals story, with neither dynamic showing clear signs of exhaustion. Exchange balances and derivatives data worsen outlook On-chain and derivatives indicators also point to sustained pressure. Data from CryptoQuant showed that average XRP exchange reserves rose to about 2.71 billion tokens on Wednesday, up from 2.67 billion on Monday. Rising exchange balances during periods of volatility often signal that investors are moving assets onto trading platforms in preparation for selling. This increases the readily available supply and can amplify downward price movements. In derivatives markets, XRP futures open interest fell to $2.57 billion on Thursday from $2.61 billion a day earlier, according to CoinGlass. The decline indicates that traders are closing positions without opening new ones, a pattern consistent with risk reduction rather than renewed speculation. For context, open interest reached a record $10.94 billion on July 22, ahead of the October 10 crash that liquidated more than $19 billion in leveraged crypto positions. The post XRP price falls 19%, sliding below $1.25: is $1 next? appeared first on Invezz
