XRP Price Prediction: As Consolidation Continues, Is This a Good Time to Buy XRP?

Meanwhile, today’s meeting of the Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) could add further volatility to the market.

Although the consensus opinion for today is that the Federal Reserve will not make any changes to its benchmark interest rate, comments from the head of the central bank, Jerome Powell, commonly trigger strong price reactions.

XRP’s year-to-date performance is still in positive territory, making it the only altcoin in the top 5 with a positive track record during this period.

Ripple’s legal victories against the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), the agency’s leadership change to a pro-crypto figure like Paul Atkins, and a positive outlook regarding the approval of an XRP-linked exchange-traded fund (ETF) have been some of the tailwinds that have managed to keep this token afloat during the year.

The Market Has Downplayed Most of XRP’s Bullish Catalysts

Ripple has recently made some bullish announcements that the market has mostly downplayed as the mood toward XRP has been relatively bearish for a while.

First, the project launched its first native stablecoin – Ripple USD (RLUSD) – and has secured multiple exchange listings.

RLUSD strengthens Ripple’s bid to become the world’s preferred cross-border payments platform as it introduces a dollar-pegged digital asset that individuals, institutions, and corporations can use to send payments across the globe.

RLUSD’s market cap has expanded from $50 million to $450 million since December after top exchanges like Kraken and Bybit listed the token.

In addition, Circle’s USDC can now be stored and transferred via the Ripple network. This opens up a new use case for the blockchain and could result in higher demand for XRP as the required utility token to settle transactions.

Ripple also obtained a license recently to operate as a digital payments platform in Dubai and RLUSD has also been recognized as a legitimate stable asset in the country.

Meanwhile, the CME Group launched XRP futures recently and opened up the door for institutions to speculate on this asset. This could pave the way for the approval of an XRP-linked ETF that would draw further liquidity and capital inflows to the token.

All of these are strong tailwinds that should have moved XRP’s needle at least to the extent seen in Ethereum (ETH) after the Pectra upgrade was implemented. Nevertheless, the market has been in consolidation for a long period now.

XRP Should Retest Its 200-Day EMA Soon

XRP (XRP) has been trading in a tight range for more than two weeks, moving between the $2.10 and $2.30 levels throughout this period.

This indicates that the price action has entered a phase of consolidation as the market prepares for its next big move.

Consolidations are also understood as phases of accumulation. These patterns have no bias but they provide strong signals of where the market could be heading once a breakout occurs.

At this point, the price seems headed to grab some of the liquidity that lies at the $2.10 level as order blocks in this area have managed to prompt big moves.

What happens after the price touches this level will be critical to predict where XRP could be heading as a bearish breakout will favor a push to the $2 support and would mean a break below the 200-day EMA – the most critical support to watch for now.

Meanwhile, if the price bounces, the market could once again aim for a move to the 200-day EMA first and then to the $2.3 level. This is a perfect scenario for traders as they have clear entries and targets.