XRP is reporting double-digit gains today, despite a generally bearish mood across the wider crypto markets.
The open-source token – which is developed largely by blockchain payments startup Ripple – was changing hands at $0.3251 at press time, having hit a 13-day high of $0.3241 at 14:00 UTC.
The world's third-largest cryptocurrency by market capitalization has appreciated by 17 percent in the last 24 hours and is the second best-performing cryptocurrency among top 100 cryptocurrencies on CoinMarketCap.
A major part of the rally, though, materialized in the couple of hours before publication – a surprising move, as the broader market is looking very risk averse. For instance, bitcoin is down 1 percent at $6,370, while 81 out of top 100 cryptocurrencies by market capitalization are reporting losses.
Some in the investor community are associating XRP's gains with reports stating that Ripple's xRapid product – which uses the digital asset – could go live in the next month or so. The news may have put a bid under the oversold cryptocurrency, which is currently down 90 percent from the record high of $3.30 hit in January.
XRP has also seen a 72 percent rise in trading volume, backing up that theory. At press time, 24-hour trading volume stands at $458 million – the highest level since Aug. 17.
Over on the technical charts, XRP is teasing a long-term bullish reversal.
Daily chart
As can be seen, XRP is still trapped in a falling channel (bearish pattern).
A UTC close above the confluence of the 50-day moving average and the top end of the falling channel, currently located at $0.3282, would confirm a bearish-to-bullish trend change and could yield further gains.
The relative strength index (RSI) has turned bullish by moving above 50.00.
View
- XRP's sharp rally has neutralized the bearish outlook for now, though the sustainability of the rally is uncertain.
- A close above $0.3282 is needed to confirm a bullish breakout and set the tone for a move higher to $0.424 (June 29 low).
- On the downside, $0.252 (Sept. 11 low) is the level to beat for the bears.
Disclosure: The author holds no cryptocurrency assets at the time of writing.
XRP image via Shutterstock; Charts by Trading View