Ripple's XRP is facing downward pressure, with the price falling in the past day and week. According to CoinMarketCap, the token dropped 3% and 12% in the daily and weekly charts, respectively. XRP's price decline reflects a broader price correction in the crypto space.

Bitcoin is leading the bear market, having dropped 3% in the past day and 13% in the past week. The second largest cryptocurrency, Ethereum, has also been facing losses of nearly 20% in the past week, currently changing hands for $3,298.

Defying Bearish Sentiment

Despite the negative sentiment facing Ripple's XRP, its leadership remains optimistic about a price surge, as seen in November. A cryptic tweet by Ripple 's Chief Technology Officer, David Schwartz, caused speculation on social media X.

Referencing a “10x times” product label, Schwartz's humor sparked deeper discussions about XRP's potential price trajectory. The San Francisco-based blockchain company made headlines over the weekend by reportedly transferring 90 million XRP tokens, worth over $200 million, to unidentified wallets.

Blockchain tracker Whale Alert noted the transactions occurred in two batches of 50 million and 40 million XRP, with values exceeding $111 million and $89 million, respectively. This move coincided with XRP trading sideways at $2.20, following a volatile week where it dropped nearly 30% from $2.7 to $1.9. Amidst these price fluctuations, XRP has experienced remarkable growth in its holder base.

XRP now ranks fourth, changing hands at $2.18. The token's market capitalization is at $125 billion. Amid the change in crypto market capitalization, market valuation has dropped 1.77% to $3.25 trillion.

Technically, the XRP price is at the lower end of price consolidation, ranging between $2 and $2.6. However, the price remains above the 50 and 200 moving averages on the data from TradingView. The Relative Strength Index (RSI) remains above the oversold zone, meaning it could go lower for any trend reversal.

Increasing XRP Adoption

Despite the volatility, XRP attracted a substantial following during the bull market. Analytics firm Santiment reported a 28% increase in nonempty XRP wallets, adding 5.75 million accounts in the past two years. This trend was followed by XRP's impressive price growth of more than 200% between November and early December.

However, the broader cryptocurrency market now faces headwinds. The Federal Reserve's recent decision to cut rates by 0.25% was overshadowed by Chair Jerome Powell's cautious stance on further rate reductions.

According to data from Coinglass, XRP liquidations exceeded $7 million within the past 24 hours, reflecting the market's bearish sentiment. Higher price levels can only be sustained if the token achieves strong on-chain activity and rising investor confidence.