Ripple (XRP) is under selling pressure at the time of writing on Friday, after the bulls failed in their attempt to conquer the short-term resistance around the $2.22 mark. The adjustment is likely to continue, heading towards the bottom established on Monday at $1.98, amid a risk-averse sentiment that still envelops the cryptocurrency market.
The XRP Ledger recorded the highest on-chain activity in 2025.
The Velocity indicator on the XRP Ledger (XRPL) shows that this blockchain is experiencing a strong wave of explosive on-chain activity, with the index peaking for the year at 0.0324 on Tuesday.
According to data from CryptoQuant, Velocity — a measure of the frequency of asset turnover on the network — reflects a significant increase in economic activity and on-chain transaction flows. This indicates that XRP is no longer 'lying idle' in cold wallets or held long-term according to the HODL strategy, but is continuously being exchanged among market participants, according to an expert from CryptoQuant.
On-chain data from the XRPL also confirms that user interaction is skyrocketing, despite the volatile market context.
At the same time, the XRP derivatives market recorded a slight improvement signal in demand from retail investors. The open interest (OI) of XRP futures reached an average of $3.85 billion on Friday, up from $3.75 billion the day before. Previously, the OI had fallen to $3.19 billion on November 22 — the lowest level since April 22.
Institutional cash flow into the XRP spot ETF remains stable.
Institutional interest in spot XRP ETFs has remained high since their official launch on November 13. According to data from SoSoValue, XRP ETFs listed in the US attracted about $50 million in capital flows alone during Wednesday's trading session, bringing the total cumulative cash flow to $874 million, while increasing the total net asset value under management to $906 million.
This persistent capital inflow is playing an important role as a support for market sentiment, providing momentum for investors to increase their holdings and maintain expectations for a more stable upward trend in the near future.
Technical outlook: XRP's recovery momentum is slowing amidst mixed signals.
At the time of writing on Friday, XRP remains stable above the bottom established on Monday around the $1.98 mark. However, this cross-border payment cryptocurrency is still under significant pressure as it trades below important exponential moving average lines, including the 50-day EMA at $2.31, the 100-day EMA at $2.47, and the 200-day EMA at $2.49 — a technical structure indicating that the bearish trend still prevails.
The relative strength index (RSI) currently hovers around 46 and remains in the weakening zone on the daily chart, reflecting a fading bullish momentum. If the RSI continues to slide deeper into the oversold zone, this is likely to signal that selling pressure is increasing.
However, the MACD indicator on the same time frame still maintains a buy signal since November 25. XRP's recovery prospects will be bolstered if the MACD line (green) continues to stay above the signal line (red), while the green histogram bars extend further.
On the contrary, to completely negate the bearish scenario, XRP needs to turn the 50-day EMA at $2.31 into a solid support level. At the same time, a decisive breakout above the declining trendline could pave the way for prices to aim for the psychological level of $3.00 in the upcoming period.
