XRP Price Risks $0.5 Breakdown as Ripple Faces ‘Scam’ Allegations

XRP price is down 0.57% to $0.53 during the U.S. trading session on Wednesday. The slight downtick is a temporary cool-off after the renewed recovery initiated last week in anticipation of the Trump-Harris debate’s impact on crypto. Although lower CPI data has supported a broader market rally, ongoing centralization accusations against Ripple suggest XRP could face an extended downturn.

Analyst Calls XRP Ripple Scam

On the macro scale, the XRP price is trending upward, albeit slightly, making it almost unnoticeable. There is definitely not much momentum in the market right now, and the insufficient buy pressure may not be enough to push the XRP price higher soon.

Finance expert Rajat Soni called XRP a ‘slave coin,’ citing it was anything but decentralized. Soni criticized XRP’s association with centralized financial institutions like banks and Central Bank Digital Currencies (CBDCs), which limit the financial freedom inherent in decentralized networks.

XRP is a scam.

Banks will never use XRP.

They will use some form of USD or #Bitcoin

Let me explain:

— Rajat Soni, CFA (@rajatsonifnance) December 18, 2023

Soni advocated for Bitcoin, whose on-chain data suggests it may be nearing its next bull run as the go-to decentralized solution due to its autonomy compared to XRP. Soni says if XRP is banned in the United States, its value could plummet.

XRP supporters fought back, noting that Ripple would shape the future of finance and that Bitcoin fees are continuously rising, limiting the network growth.

XRP Price Analysis

The price of XRP displays a bearish structure with a bear flag formation, indicating a potential continuation to the downside. The Ripple price is currently testing the lower boundary of this pattern, suggesting a breakdown is imminent.

The Chaikin Money Flow (CMF) indicators have been consolidating since the month began, indicating there is not much momentum. The CMF is negative and pointing downward, signaling that sell pressure on XRP may be increasing.

The first support zone lies around $0.478, which is the projected target from the bear flag breakdown. There is an immediate resistance near the upper trendline of the flag at $0.545, with the 50 EMA (green) at $0.5405 providing additional short-term resistance. The 200 EMA (black) at $0.559 is also a major resistance level.

If the price of XRP breaks below $0.533 and maintains momentum, a more significant bearish move could follow, extending below $0.478.

Factors That Could Further Influence XRP

There are factors that could further influence the price of XRP in the coming days. Firstly, the Trump-Harris debate was anti-climactic for the crypto community, as the two presidential aspirants failed to mention anything related to cryptocurrencies.

Trump is pro-crypto, while Harris is an outspoken anti-crypto critic. The lack of crypto mention may have caused Bitcoin to drop, resulting in a total crypto market reduction of 1.7%.

The U.S. CPI data dropped today, and the headline CPI rose by 0.2% MoM, which is in line with expectations. The year-over-year (YoY) CPI fell to 2.5% from July’s 2.9%, which may signal that U.S. inflation eased over August. This could result in a crypto price surge. 

Conclusion

As the XRP price faces criticism, several factors, such as the U.S. CPI, can either support a downward trend or a reversal of the bearish thesis. Bulls on XRP will now be keeping a careful eye on these levels to see if the market can recover its strength.