The cryptocurrency market is going through a quiet phase, and traders are trying to find the next direction. Among the top cryptocurrencies, XRP has been identified as being undervalued by a data analytics platform called Santiment.
According to Santiment’s analysis shared on December 12, XRP’s Market Value to Realized Value (MVRV) ratio for the past 30 days is -6.1%. This means that people who bought XRP recently are, on average, currently losing money. This could make XRP an interesting option for swing trading, which means buying and selling quickly to take advantage of price changes.
A Market Waiting for Action
This negative MVRV ratio is unusual compared to other major cryptocurrencies. Bitcoin (BTC), the first and most popular cryptocurrency, is in a neutral position at +2.4%. Ethereum (ETH), which allows smart contracts and decentralized applications, shows a slightly overvalued position at +7.2%. XRP stands apart among big players, indicating its price right now may not match the average buying cost of holders during the last month.
The idea that XRP might be undervalued comes as its market activity has slowed down. For instance, data from Binance, analyzed by Arab Chain on December 10, reveals that the XRP Open Interest Z-Score is at 0.11. Open interest measures the total number of active (open) trading contracts. A Z-Score shows if this number is higher or lower than usual. In the past few months, this score was above 3.0, showing speculative (guess-based) trading activity. Now, things are more neutral.
Additionally, total open interest (active contracts) for XRP is at around 545 million tokens, which is lower compared to November’s numbers. This suggests that traders aren’t rushing to buy or sell XRP aggressively. Instead, they are waiting for new information or events to make their decisions.
Price Movement and Uncertainty
XRP’s price performance has been uncertain recently. Right now, it’s trading at around $2.03, which is a drop of roughly 16% in the past month. It has stayed in a range for several months, meaning the price has been bouncing between about $1.90 (support level where buyers usually step in) and $2.10 (selling pressure level).
Some technical tools, like the Relative Strength Index (RSI), suggest weak momentum for XRP. However, on shorter-term charts, some analysts see oversold signals. Oversold means the price might have dropped too much in a short time, and it could start a reversal (move upward) soon if the support level near $1.90 holds.
Waiting for a Big Event
Even though the market isn’t very active, the XRP ecosystem (the projects and features around XRP) is still growing. In late November, new spot XRP Exchange-Traded Funds (ETFs) started in the U.S. Spot ETFs directly track the price of an asset like XRP. Major companies like Canary Capital and Grayscale launched these funds, and they pulled in nearly $950 million in investments. This shows strong interest in XRP.
Ripple, the company behind XRP, is also growing its stablecoin RLUSD. Stablecoins are special cryptocurrencies that are designed to maintain stable value, often linked to fiat money like the U.S. dollar. RLUSD recently received recognition in Abu Dhabi and now has a market value of $1.3 billion. Although this is small compared to big stablecoins like USDT or USDC, it’s a positive step for Ripple’s financial network.
What Happens Next?
For now, XRP finds itself at a crossroads. On-chain data (data related to the blockchain it runs on) labels it as undervalued, derivative markets (trading contracts based on its price) are neutral, and its price is lower than recent highs. The market is calm but appears to be preparing for its next move. Whether XRP rises or falls depends on the technical factors already mentioned and new developments in its ecosystem.