XRP/USD to fall of a cliff if this chart pattern plays out

XRP/USD is changing hands at $0.2748, down nearly 6% in recent 24 hours. The third digital coin dropped sharply during late US hours amid massive sell-off on the cryptocurrency markets. Ripple's total market value settled at $12.1 billion, while an average daily trading volume registered at $3.1 billion.

XRP/USD: Head-and-Shoulder pattern bodes ill for XRP bulls

A prominent market analyst and commodity trader Peter Brandt recently noted that XRP/USD was creating a head-and-shoulders (H&S) pattern on a daily chart. Typically, H&S is regarded as a classic reversal pattern. Once appeared after a strong upside movement, it that points to an imminent sell-off.

Peter Brandt outlined $0.20 as a potential sell-off target:

It will be interesting to see if this H&S top plays out. If so, the target would be .2071. This Tweet poses a possibility. This is not a prediction.

However, the pattern will be confirmed only after the price breaks below the neckline, which comes at $0.2680. While XRP/USD is trading above this barrier, there is a chance to avoid a sharp collapse.

XRP/USD daily chart

On the intraday charts, XRP/USD is consolidating losses. The coin is moving within a range with a bearish bias. A sustainable move above $0.2900 is needed to mitigate the initial bearish pressure and allow for an extended recovery towards psychological $0.3000. Meanwhile. $0.2900 is reinforced by a combination of SMA50 and SMA100 on a 1-hour chart; also it coincides with the broken channel support, which means this area may be a  hard nut to crack for XRP bulls. The next barrier at $0.3000 is also strengthened by SMA200 1-hour. Once it is out of the way, the upside is likely to gain traction with the next focus on $0.3150 (the upper boundary of the previous upside channel).

XRP/USD 1-hour