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XRP was not among the gainers as the cryptocurrency market attracted capital of up to $12 billion in a day.
The Ripple blockchain’s native asset slumped by up to 2.19 percent on Monday to establish an intraday low of $0.194. The downside move negated XRP’s gains – registered during the Sunday trading session – by 1.38 percent. At the same time, it pushed the cryptocurrency’s 24-hour adjusted performance down by 0.77 percent.
In contrast, other top coins were faring better. Bitcoin, the leading cryptocurrency, was up by 5.41 percent on a 24-hour adjusted timeframe as of 1300 UTC. The second-largest Ethereum was similarly trading 2.86 percent higher, showing little-to-no signs of upside exhaustion.
That XRP FUD
The intraday losses in XRP closely follow Ripple’s announcement of raising $200 million in a Series C funding round. The San Francisco firm, which offers blockchain-based cross border remittance services to banks and similar payment institutions, also valued itself at $10 billion after the fundraiser.
Nevertheless, the news did little to improve XRP’s interim aspects. The token, whose value plunged by up to 52 percent on a year-to-date scale, registered a decent 3.86 percent gain on the day of the announcement. But it failed to extend the upside momentum and remained mostly flat during the sessions that followed later.
The move came as a shocker to analysts who had expected XRP to draw gains after Ripple’s high-profile fundraiser. CNBC Fast Money host Kate Rooney pointed out the token’s long-standing underperformance. She further reminded that Ripple, which remains the majority stakeholder of XRP, has swayed investors due to its quarterly XRP sell-offs.
“Ripple also uses XRP as a so-called bridge currency for cross-border transactions,” Ms. Rooney added. “XRP had skyrocketed alongside Bitcoin two years ago. It’s now down roughly 50% this year, while Bitcoin has actually rallied 80%.”
Ripple making a splash with its valuation hitting $10 billion today. Here what our traders see ahead for the cryptocurrency exchange. pic.twitter.com/KPkzJDHbEx
— CNBC's Fast Money (@CNBCFastMoney) December 20, 2019
Renowned crypto trader and market analyst Tone Vays also made serious remarks against Ripple in a recent interview. He said that he neither sees value in the company nor in its cryptocurrency XRP, adding that Ripple continues to dump XRP tokens on the rest of the token holders, which gives them an unfair – and illegal – advantage over other startups.
Market analyst @ToneVays predicts Bitcoin reaching $50K by 2023, while calling out @TimDraper's "ridiculous" price predictions for being "grossly irresponsible."
WATCH: https://t.co/KwN67AVRZ2 pic.twitter.com/iXVvYzVwWB
— BLOCKTV (@BLOCKTVnews) December 22, 2019
Bulls will be Bulls
Against the ongoing FUD against Ripple, some still believe the company is a Silicon Valley unicorn in making.
Michael Arrington, a partner at Arrington XRP Capital – a Seattle-based digital asset management firm, defended Ripple by bringing its investors’ psyche into the conversation. He recognized the company’s ability to attract big names such as Tetragon, SBI Holdings, and VC firm Route 66 Ventures as its leading investors.
“If you’re perplexed as to why investors would aggressively invest in Ripple at a $10b valuation, the problem maybe you,” said Mr. Arrington. “Or you could just keep believing you’re so smart and they’re so dumb.”
Kevin Cage – an XRP regular on Crypto Twitter – said he will keep holding the cryptocurrency regardless of the FUD.
When $XRP inevitably rises, I will not thank the self-proclaimed "Riddlers/Insiders". I will thank myself for doing my own research, using basic logic, & having patience.
If these riddlers are right, that is just icing on the cake. I'm holding regardless. #XRP #XRPCommunity
— Kevin Cage (@Kevin_Cage_) December 16, 2019
“Too much potential upside to ignore,” asserted Mr. Cage.
The XRP/USD pair was trading at 0.196 at the time of this writing.
