Ripple's XRP takes a slide down the cryptocurrency rankings
By Neil Dennis
09:12, 11 May 2021
Investors in the Ripple blockchain's native currency XRP have suffered some volatile moves in the past couple of weeks.
While cryptocurrencies were down across the board on Tuesday, XRP was one of the most interesting movers as it slid down the crypto market-cap positions.
Barely four weeks ago, XRP stood at a record high of $1.96 with a market cap of $69bn, making it the fourth-biggest cryptocurrency by this metric – behind bitcoin (market cap $1tn), ethereum ( $455bn) and binance coin ($1bn).
Since hitting its peak on 14 April, XRP has lost 27.5% and is now ranked eighth by market cap.
Of course, in the volatile world of cryptocurrencies, this could plausibly be made back in a single session with just a nod and wink from Elon Musk.
But what makes its move most interesting is that XRP, underpinned by the Ripple blockchain, has been one of the biggest success stories for use cases in decentralised finance and cross-border, cross-currency transactions.
Market froth
As seen in the equity market on Monday, however, once record levels are reached, a little profit-taking can only be expected. While a 27% fall is more than a mere correction, it's worth reiterating that this is not unusual in the crypto-asset space.
Sheldon McIntyre, a cryptocurrency analyst at FXStreet, said that evidence of froth in the market had driven investors to take some profits.
As for XRP itself, McIntyre believes that the technical outlook still looks good. “For now, the Ripple bullish outlook is active, but it is time to manage the thesis with caution,” he added.
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Movers
XRP was the biggest faller among the top 10 cryptocurrencies, down 10.6% in mid-morning trading in London at $1.4231.
All the others in the top 10 were also lower, with bitcoin down 5.1% at $55,414, ethereum off 5.5% at $3,931 and binance coin 4% lower at $650.13.
Dogecoin, the cryptocurrency of the moment, was down 4.9% at $0.50, putting it in the fourth position once occupied by XPR.
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