When the price of Bitcoin started declining from its all-time high of close to $20,000 in December last year, it sent shockwaves across the cryptocurrency ecosystem, leading the entire crypto economy into a spiral of depression.
As the crypto market crashed, Ripple (XRP) was undoubtedly one of the worst hit digital currencies. The price of XRP plummeted by over 90% in 2018. It wasn’t that Ripple, the blockchain startup behind XRP, wasn’t making efforts. The currency exchange and remittance network entered partnerships with some of the distinguished names in the banking sector including American Express and Banco Santander. However, XRP price has been on the downward trend in the wake of Swell conference and the hype around xRapid.
XRP had a phenomenal month in September
September brought the best out of XRP, the third largest crypto coin by market cap. Ripple’s value rose to more than 100 percent as people rushed to invest in the digital asset on hopes that it would become the de facto way banks transfer money across borders.
The surge was so significant that XRP even briefly dethroned Ethereum (ETH) from the 2nd spot on the CoinMarketCap.
After the price surge, however, a correction followed. The price fell from almost $0.70 to $0.45. Ironically, the correction took place in the wake of the much-hyped Swell event which was graced by former U.S. President Bill Clinton.
The price of XRP has dipped around 17 percent over the past seven days. Its volume has also sunk significantly.
Why did Ripple (XRP) decrease in value?
Many investors, speculators and even technical analysts have remained confused by this kind of market reaction. Nevertheless, some analysts have observed that investors were very keen to take advantage of Ripple’s partnerships with major financial institutions. The cryptocurrency gained the support of PNC, Standard Chartered, among others. They were convinced these partnerships will lead to the appreciation of Ripple’s value. But many of these banks have not yet adopted xRapid or other Ripple products. The actual reason for Ripple’s sudden price decline is yet to be established. Perhaps it could be even a case of crypto market manipulation.