• Ripple’s massive breakout hit a critical barrier at $0.75, capitulating short-term holders.
• Ripple must hold the 50 SMA or $0.34 key levels to avert potential losses toward $0.3.
• Closing the day above $0.4 could see XRP jump toward $1 as investors’ stream back to the market.

XRP flew the bullish flag above the cryptocurrency horizon from late last week, the weekend session, and on February 1. It was a perfect storm (staying in an elongated consolidation) for Ripple’s community. Our analyses in the previous weeks had predicted a breakout to $0.5. However, Ripple proved it a conservative target, hitting levels of $0.75 for the first time in 2021.

At the time of writing, XRP is doddering at $0.38 after a sudden sharp fall from the February 1 highs of $0.75. The support anticipated at $0.7 and $0.4 failed to rise to the occasion, leaving bears completely in control.

In the meantime, the 50 Simple Moving Average has come in handy, limiting a breakdown under $0.34. It is essential that this support holds, otherwise, XRP may continue with the freefall back to the dominating levels in January (between $0.25 and $0.3).

XRP/USD 4-hour chart

The Moving Average Convergence Divergence continues to reinforce the pessimistic outlook, especially now that the MACD line has crossed under the signal line. In other words, recovery will not be a walk in the park and more losses will come into the picture before buyers can control the cross-border token.

A comprehensive glance upward suggests that Ripple may soon renew the uptrend if the price closes the day above $0.4. Such a move would call for more buy orders as investors rush back to the market in anticipation of another run-up toward $1.

Ripple intraday levels

Spot rate: $0.38

Relative change: 0.01

Percentage change: 2.5%

Trend: Bearish

Volatility: Expanding