Aniket Pujari
XRP price continued its recent downtrend even after the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency granted Ripple Labs a conditional approval for a banking charter, and ETF inflows continued.
Summary
- XRP price is stuck in a technical bear market after falling by ~45% from the year-to-date high.
- OCC granted Ripple Labs a national banking charter.
- The charter allows the company to offer custody services.
Ripple (XRP) token dropped to a low of $1.980, continuing a downtrend that started in July when it peaked at $3.6600.
SEC grants Ripple Labs a banking license
The XRP price has dropped despite having some important news. One of the most important events happened on Friday, when the OCC granted Ripple Labs a conditional licence to run its trust bank. In a letter addressed to Brian Spahn, Ripple’s Senior Director of Compliance, the OCC said:
“The OCC has granted preliminary conditional approval only. Final approval and authorization for the Bank to commence business will not be granted until all pre-opening requirements are met.”
Receiving the banking licence is important for Ripple as it means that it can now start to diversify its revenue sources. For example, it may start to offer custody solutions to companies it bought this year, like GTreasury and Hidden Road.
Additionally, the company will likely transition its Ripple USD (RLUSD) cash from BNY Mellon to its bank. Such a move will likely save it millions of dollars in custody fees in the long term.
XRP price has also dropped even after the Securities and Exchange Commission approved several ETFs. Just this week, it approved the 21Shares XRP ETF, a move that will likely increase demand.
All the existing XRP ETFs, including REX-Osprey’s XXRP, have had over $1 billion in inflows. They have never had a day of outflows, which is a major accomplishment and is a sign of resilient demand.
XRP price has also declined even as the Ripple USD gained over $1.3 billion in assets and the company achieved a $40 billion valuation. This drop is because of the broader crypto market crash, which has affected all tokens.
XRP price technicals suggest more downside
The daily chart shows that the XRP price remains under pressure this year. It has remained below the descending trendline that connects the highest points since Oct. 2.
The coin has moved below the 50-day moving average and the Supertrend indicator. Most importantly, it has lost the important support at $2.0.
Therefore, the most likely XRP price forecast is bearish, with the key target being at $1.5625, the ultimate support of the Murrey Math Lines tool. This price is ~20% below the current level.
