XRP is reporting double-digit gains today, despite a generally bearish mood across the wider crypto markets.
The open-source token – which is developed largely by blockchain payments startup Ripple – was changing hands at $0.3251 at press time, having hit a 13-day high of $0.3241 at 14:00 UTC.
The world's third-largest cryptocurrency by market capitalization has appreciated by 17 percent in the last 24 hours and is the second best-performing cryptocurrency among top 100 cryptocurrencies on CoinMarketCap.
A major part of the rally, though, materialized in the couple of hours before publication – a surprising move, as the broader market is looking very risk averse. For instance, bitcoin is down 1 percent at $6,370, while 81 out of top 100 cryptocurrencies by market capitalization are reporting losses.
Some in the investor community are associating XRP's gains with reports stating that Ripple's xRapid product – which uses the digital asset – could go live in the next month or so. The news may have put a bid under the oversold cryptocurrency, which is currently down 90 percent from the record high of $3.30 hit in January.
XRP has also seen a 72 percent rise in trading volume, backing up that theory. At press time, 24-hour trading volume stands at $458 million – the highest level since Aug. 17.
Over on the technical charts, XRP is teasing a long-term bullish reversal.
Daily chart
As can be seen, XRP is still trapped in a falling channel (bearish pattern).
A UTC close above the confluence of the 50-day moving average and the top end of the falling channel, currently located at $0.3282, would confirm a bearish-to-bullish trend change and could yield further gains.
The relative strength index (RSI) has turned bullish by moving above 50.00.
View
XRP's sharp rally has neutralized the bearish outlook for now, though the sustainability of the rally is uncertain. A close above $0.3282 is needed to confirm a bullish breakout and set the tone for a move higher to $0.424 (June 29 low). On the downside, $0.252 (Sept. 11 low) is the level to beat for the bears.Disclosure: The author holds no cryptocurrency assets at the time of writing.
XRP image via Shutterstock; Charts by Trading View
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