XRP price is looking for another bullish catalyst to trigger a move above $1

XRP (XRP) price surged an incredible 100% on the day of the historic decision in the XRP Securities case, but buyers are now struggling to hold on to that gain.

The price hike came after Judge Analisa Torres of the District Court for the Southern District of New York ruled that the sale of XRP to retail investors does not qualify the token as collateral in the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) case against Ripple.

While trading interest in XRP is reviving, technical and network usage data are pointing to a near-term decline.

Traders Are Attracted To XRP, But Network Growth Is Stalling

Open interest volume for XRP futures contracts, which represents the total value of open bets on the asset, reached its highest point since November 2021, reaching $1.19 billion on July 20, according to data from Coinglass.

XRP spot trading volume has overtaken Bitcoin and Ethereum and US-based exchanges such as Gemini and Coinbase have re-listed XRP, further boosting market sentiment.

Despite these positive developments, the network has not experienced a comparable increase in activity. The number of transactions on the XRP Ledger has been stable for over a year, indicating a lack of new entities actively participating in the network.

XRP Ledger is a blockchain-based distributed ledger technology (DLT) created by Ripple Labs. XRP is used as a means of payment on the network and is also used to secure the blockchain.

Since Ripple’s partial victory in the SEC lawsuit, the company has ramped up its XRP Ledger adoption efforts. Beginning with participation in a $54 million investment in the Metaverse project, Futureverse.

The company will also seek to restore relationships with banks, in line with its core vision of enabling low-cost global payments. These are likely to fuel the network growth of XRP Ledger and act as a positive catalyst for the market.

XRP/USD Price Analysis

Technically, the XRP/USD pair is showing resistance from its long-standing bearish trend line since its 2018 peak. A weekly close above this level should boost investor sentiment and end the bearish trend.

If the buyers fail to sustain the bullish momentum, XRP/USD is likely to find support near $0.54 before moving higher.

The XRP/BTC pair is also stuck at the long-term resistance between 0.00002533 BTC and 0.00003341 BTC. Buyers have failed to rise above this since 2019. If no support is formed above this level, the pair could revisit the support around 0.00001555 BTC.

Connected: XRP Price May Fall 40% By September – Fractal Analysis

A correction will be considered bullish if the pair finds support at the 50-period MA at 0.00002057 BTC or the 200-period MA at 0.00001913 BTC.

As mentioned above, the futures open rate for XRP is at a two-year high with over $1 billion in estimated value. Thus, XRP is likely to experience significant volatility in the near term.

Funding rates for perpetual swaps, which represent the relative demand for long or short orders for the token, have shown a positive trend since the prestigious court ruling, suggesting that a majority of traders have added long positions. Again, chances of a correction are rising for more leveraged buyers to chase the liquidation levels.

Given the positive regulatory developments, technological advancements, and popularity of the coin among retail users, it is likely that the long-term negative trend of XRP will come to an end in a few weeks with the arrival of positive catalysts related to the mainstream adoption of XRP.

This article does not constitute investment advice or recommendations. Every investment and trading move involves risk and readers should do their own research when making decisions.

This article is for general information purposes and is not intended to be legal or investment advice and should not be construed as legal or investment advice. The views, opinions and opinions expressed here are those of the author alone and do not necessarily reflect or represent the views and opinions of Cointelegraph.