XRP Price Prediction: Bears Eye $2.83 as Selling Pressure Mounts

XRP Faces Bearish Trend as ETF Uncertainty Looms

XRP price declined sharply on Friday, falling to $2.87, registering a 4.34% drop over the past 24 hours. This negative trend was after a rejection at the resistance level of $3.00, indicating the growing selling pressure.

Price also dropped out of the short-term support area of $2.95-2.96 that now serves as a resistance point. This reversal validates a negative short-term trend, with the $2.83 support level at risk of being tested.

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The trading volume per hour declined by 1.33% to $6.45 billion, suggesting reduced interest from traders. This volume decline had been coupled with the fall in price, as the bulls had lost faith after recurring rejection of resistance.

Furthermore, the altcoin has been worse off than the larger crypto market, which traded up on Thursday despite it closing the day in the red. The absence of momentum is in comparison to altcoins such as Cronos, which increased by 100% in a week.

XRP Price Action Forms Bearish Structure With Lower Highs

Technical indicators are also still favouring a bearish outlook as the altcoin builds a series of lower highs and lower lows on the chart. The 100-hour simple moving average has flipped into resistance, and the price is below  $2.970.

The price faced further resistance at $3.020, where a bearish trend line has formed on the hourly chart. Unless bulls manage to breach this level, the bearish trend is bound to persist in the near future.

XRP Hourly Price Analysis : Source : TradingView

The Relative Strength Index (RSI) is currently below 30, indicating that sellers are controlling short-term market direction. Additionally, the hourly MACD indicates higher momentum in the bearish area, which supports the anticipation of further downtrend.

Support near $2.90 has failed to hold, while $2.830 is emerging as the next critical zone. If that area breaks, bears will likely target $2.80, which aligns with the broader retracement structure.

The altcoin's price has lost 4.6% since Ripple’s legal win against the SEC on August 22, revealing little sustained bullish reaction. The ETF decisions have become the new focus of the market, and no immediate institutional catalysts have helped to strengthen the current positioning of XRP.

ETF Uncertainty and Institutional Hesitation Cloud October Outlook

The interest of investors is still attached to the possible introduction of a spot XRP ETF, which would greatly change the market sentiment. But the SEC has pushed off ETF decision-making into October, and hence institutional inflows.

The presence of institutional influence on crypto prices has already been noted, with BlackRock iShares Bitcoin and Ethereum Trusts witnessing a total net inflow of $71.3 billion. However, the altcoin has not yet been able to follow this trend, which is an indicator of low institutional appetite to date.

Coinbase is also said to have sold over 50% of its XRP holdings, which is associated with poor institutional demand before Q4. Analysts think this decline is an indication of doubt about XRP's short-term performance and positioning in the market.

Nevertheless, XRP is up 38% this year, beating BTC and ETH but falling behind currencies such as HYPE. This is an indication of high retail interest, yet highlights the reliance of the altcoin on retail as opposed to institutional involvement.

The bullish drivers of Q4 may include Ripple bank license application, Treasury Reserve Asset developments, and possible displacement of SWIFT. But until they do, XRF has an uncertain future as traders consider divergent stories.