Ripple News: XRP Price Breaks Below $2 Amid ETF Race, Bitwise Trails Canary

The Bitwise $XRP ETF officially closed its first trading day with 1,127,647 shares traded, equal to $25.93 million in volume. While a solid debut for a product launching during one of the most chaotic market days of the year, the ETF fell far short of the $58.5 million posted by Canary’s XRPC ETF on its launch day last week.

Canary Capital’s CEO, Steven McClurg, congratulated Bitwise publicly and said both firms are showing Wall Street that “you don’t have to be BlackRock to launch the top ETFs of 2025.” He added that Canary is rooting for Bitwise to reach the top five—“as long as you don’t knock us out first.”

Despite the weaker debut, several analysts say Bitwise could post a stronger Day 2, especially after today’s market-wide turmoil restricted liquidity across all risk assets.

A Market Meltdown Overshadows the Launch

The $XRP ETF launch collided with one of the most violent market crashes in months. In a single session, the S&P 500 erased roughly $1.5 trillion from its intraday high. Bitcoin plunged to $87,000, triggering a wave of forced liquidations across derivatives markets.

The total crypto market cap simultaneously fell below $2.95 trillion, adding massive pressure to all altcoins—including $XRP, which slid under $2 just hours after the Bitwise ETF opened for trading.

$XRP Extends Multi-Month Breakdown

$XRP’s price action has been deteriorating for months, and today’s crash pushed the token into a critical danger zone. Over the past several weeks, analysts had warned that $XRP was entering a multi-month bearish reversal similar to the pattern seen in late 2020, which led to a long, deep correction.

On the weekly timeframe, the bearish divergence continues to play out. The daily RSI has now broken below previous lows, eliminating the possibility of a short-term bullish divergence forming. $XRP also closed below a key support region near $2.25, increasing the risk of further downside.

At the moment, $2 is seen as the final near-term support. A daily close below this level could open the door to a retest of $1.80, followed by $1.60 if selling pressure intensifies.