A prominent XRP market commentator triggers speculation regarding the factor behind XRP’s sudden crash after each price spike.
Notably, XRP has faced persistent price volatility amid numerous positive developments surrounding the token. Despite progress in the race to launch an XRP ETF, its inclusion in the U.S. digital asset stockpile, and recent breakthroughs in the Ripple vs. SEC lawsuit, XRP has struggled to maintain its gains.
XRP Price Witnesses Sharp Declines After Sudden Spike
Instead, the asset has frequently experienced a sharp rise followed by a rapid decline, trading at the lower end of the $2 range at press time. This has triggered concerns among investors.
For instance, this pattern occurred on March 2, when President Donald Trump announced that XRP would be part of the U.S. digital asset stockpile.
The token immediately surged by 34% in a single day, reaching $3. However, this rally was short-lived, as XRP dropped 18.83% the following day. The downtrend continued, pushing the price back to the lower end of the $2 mark.
Another instance occurred on March 19, after Ripple CEO Brad Garlinghouse confirmed that the SEC had abandoned its appeal against Ripple, bringing the legal battle closer to resolution. This news triggered an 11.32% price jump for XRP on the same day. However, within the next three days, the token shed nearly 7% of its gains.
Market analysts have questioned the reasons behind these rapid downturns, with some attributing the occurrence to natural market forces. Notably, assets often witness such sharp declines after hitting resistance during a sudden spike.
Van Code Points to Bitcoin Whale Manipulation
However, a recent analysis from software engineer and market commentator Vincent Van Code suggests that Bitcoin whales might be responsible for these sharp corrections.
He pointed out unusual activity in the XRP/BTC pair, where massive buy and dump movements have occurred. In turn, this triggers a cascading effect as arbitrage traders and bots adjust the XRP/USDT balance.
Getting closer to understanding why the XRP pumps are squashed, and I noticed this large spike in the XRP/BTC, basically big BTC whales buying and dumping. This has a cascading effect as the arbitrage and bots balance out say XRP/USDT.
So, question is, is it just BTC whales…
— Vincent Van Code (@vincent_vancode) April 1, 2025
Van Code asked whether Bitcoin whales, who hold billions of dollars in BTC, were merely engaging in XRP swing trading or if their actions were part of a strategy to keep XRP from becoming a significant threat. He suggested that the repeated crashes might be an orchestrated effort rather than random trading fluctuations.
According to him, Bitcoin whales who amassed their holdings at extremely low prices could be using their wealth to manipulate the XRP market and prevent it from achieving sustained growth.
He noted that similar dump patterns have previously occurred, pushing the XRP/BTC pair lower than before the initial surge. However, it bears mentioning that these suggestions remain unconfirmed.
Can a Higher Trading Volume Solve This?
Van Code then discussed the need for much higher trading volumes to counteract what he believes are the manipulative moves. According to him, a $40 to $50 billion trading volume for XRP could be sufficient.
He argued that without a significant increase in volume, XRP would continue experiencing these abrupt corrections. Currently, CoinMarketCap data confirms that XRP has averaged $6 billion in 24-hour volume since March at the $2 price. Van Code speculated that, to hit the $50 billion volume mark consistently, the XRP price might have to surpass $5.
Some proponents believe institutional adoption and demand can help in the long run. Meanwhile, it is important to note that XRP is not the only asset suffering from such sudden price slumps. Bitcoin and altcoins like Cardano (ADA) also witnessed massive drops early last month.
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