XRP gains as crypto market sentiment lifts on Iran war optimism
- XRP ticks up above $1.40 as the broader crypto market improves following US President Trump’s remarks that the Iran war could end soon.
- The Supply Distribution metric shows that a key whale cohort is not selling XRP holdings after aggressive accumulation between August and December.
- Retail demand for XRP remains relatively low despite the futures Open Interest mildly rising to $2.32 billion on Tuesday.
Ripple (XRP) shows subtle upside strength, trading above $1.40 at the time of writing on Tuesday. The remittance token is rising alongside the broader cryptocurrency market, as reflected by Bitcoin (BTC) reclaiming $70,000 as immediate support and Ethereum (ETH) holding above $2,000.
Sentiment improved across global markets after United States (US) President Donald Trump said the Iran war could be over soon. Crypto prices steadied their rebound across the board, as the West Texas Intermediate (WTI) Crude Oil prices tumbled from a $113 high on Monday to approximately $87 at the time of writing.
Whales refrain from selling XRP as price steadies
Addresses holding between 10 million and 100 million XRP appear unbothered by price fluctuations, macroeconomic uncertainty, and geopolitical tensions, according to Santiment’s data. The Supply Distribution metric shows that this cohort of whales holds 16.59% of XRP’s total supply.
It is worth noting that holdings have remained between 17.08%, recorded on December 11, and 16.27%, as seen on March 1, underscoring the whales’ resolve not to sell XRP. Looking back, the same cohort aggressively accumulated the remittance token from August to December, before stabilising in January, February and March.
A steady increase in the whales’ holdings suggests that investors are confident in XRP’s potential to rally and are willing to lean into risk.
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Meanwhile, retail interest in XRP remains on the back foot despite the futures Open Interest (OI) rising slightly to $2.32 billion on Tuesday, from $2.25 billion the previous day.
In contrast, XRP derivatives experienced an OI surge to $10.94 billion in July, coinciding with the price hitting a record high of $3.66. With OI down nearly 80% from its historical high, retail remains skeptical that XRP can sustain its recovery.
Technical outlook: XRP looks poised to extend recovery
XRP is trading above the $1.40 pivotal threshold, as bulls double down on their efforts to steady recovery. The Moving Average Convergence Divergence (MACD) indicator remains above the signal line on the daily chart while the green histogram bars expand, prompting investors to increase their risk exposure. Moreover, the Relative Strength Index (RSI) at 47 on the same chart is rising, showing easing bearish momentum. An extended increase in the RSI above the 50 midline would reinforce the bullish outlook, increasing the odds of a steady rebound.
Still, the near-term bias remains bearish, with the XRP price entrenched below a descending resistance trendline. XRP also holds below a compressed stack of 50-day, 100-day and 200-day Exponential Moving Averages (EMAs), all of which hover between roughly $1.53 and $1.99.
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Initial support is seen at the $1.36 daily low area, followed by the weekly open at $1.34, where a break would pave the way toward deeper downside extension. On the upside, the $1.45 zone acts as immediate resistance from recent closing highs, ahead of the 50-day EMA at $1.53 and the 100-day EMA at $1.74.
Cryptocurrency metrics FAQs
The developer or creator of each cryptocurrency decides on the total number of tokens that can be minted or issued. Only a certain number of these assets can be minted by mining, staking or other mechanisms. This is defined by the algorithm of the underlying blockchain technology. On the other hand, circulating supply can also be decreased via actions such as burning tokens, or mistakenly sending assets to addresses of other incompatible blockchains.
Market capitalization is the result of multiplying the circulating supply of a certain asset by the asset’s current market value.
Trading volume refers to the total number of tokens for a specific asset that has been transacted or exchanged between buyers and sellers within set trading hours, for example, 24 hours. It is used to gauge market sentiment, this metric combines all volumes on centralized exchanges and decentralized exchanges. Increasing trading volume often denotes the demand for a certain asset as more people are buying and selling the cryptocurrency.
Funding rates are a concept designed to encourage traders to take positions and ensure perpetual contract prices match spot markets. It defines a mechanism by exchanges to ensure that future prices and index prices periodic payments regularly converge. When the funding rate is positive, the price of the perpetual contract is higher than the mark price. This means traders who are bullish and have opened long positions pay traders who are in short positions. On the other hand, a negative funding rate means perpetual prices are below the mark price, and hence traders with short positions pay traders who have opened long positions.
(The technical analysis of this story was written with the help of an AI tool.)
Author
John Isige
FXStreet
John Isige is a seasoned cryptocurrency journalist and markets analyst committed to delivering high-quality, actionable insights tailored to traders, investors, and crypto enthusiasts. He enjoys deep dives into emerging Web3 tren
