XRP sell-off accelerates as over $20 billion exits in a week

$XRP has come under intense selling pressure over the past week, shedding more than $20 billion in market value as broader risk aversion sweeps through the cryptocurrency market.

By press time, $XRP’s market capitalization had fallen to $97.31 billion, down from $117.32 billion a week earlier.

Price action has been equally severe, with the token trading near $1.59, marking a decline of more than 17% over the past seven days.

At current levels, $XRP is firmly entrenched in a bearish trend, trading well below its 50-day Simple Moving Average (SMA) of $1.94, signaling short-term weakness and sustained downward momentum in recent weeks.

The gap widens further against the 200-day SMA at $2.44, pointing to a prolonged long-term decline and a lack of bullish conviction.

However, the 14-day Relative Strength Index (RSI) at 29.27 sits in oversold territory, suggesting the asset may be undervalued and potentially ripe for a rebound if market sentiment shifts from its current state of extreme fear, despite elevated volatility.

Why $XRP is down

It is worth noting that $XRP’s sell-off does not stem from a single project-specific catalyst but rather from a convergence of broader market pressures.

In this context, a crypto-wide downturn set the tone after Bitcoin (BTC) fell below the key $75,000 and $80,000 support levels, triggering a risk-off shift that disproportionately hit higher-volatility tokens like $XRP. The resulting selling reflected position unwinds across major cryptocurrencies and altcoins, rather than any deterioration in $XRP’s fundamentals.

At the same time, geopolitical tensions in the Middle East further unsettled global markets, pushing investors away from risk assets and sending $XRP to its weakest levels since late 2024.

Sentiment was also weighed down by supply concerns tied to Ripple’s routine February escrow release of 1 billion $XRP, despite most tokens typically being re-locked.

$XRP growth potential

On the other hand, $XRP’s long-term growth case received a fundamentals boost after Billiton Diamond and Ctrl Alt tokenized more than $280 million worth of certified polished diamonds on the $XRP Ledger using Ripple Custody.

The initiative brings real-world assets onto XRPL with on-chain records for ownership, origin, and grading, reinforcing the network’s role in institutional-grade tokenization.

While broader rollout awaits regulatory approval in Dubai, the deployment highlights rising adoption of XRPL for regulated, high-value asset settlement—supporting demand for the network and strengthening the underlying utility narrative around $XRP.

Indeed, this adds to the institutional interest factor, where attention has shifted to the asset through the spot exchange-traded funds (ETFs).

Featured image via Shutterstock