XRP experiences hard times because of a lawsuit between Ripple and the SEC. All predictions are that the parties will reach a settlement, but that is unlikely to happen until 2022. That means that until then, institutional investors will not consider XRP a viable investment. Despite this, Ripple continues to expand its influence in the sphere of transnational remittances and the implementation of digital financial instruments. It has become known that Ripple will partner with the Royal Monetary Authority of Bhutan to launch the country's digital currency.
So far Ripple and Buthan authorities have signed a contract that includes the launch of a test version of the national digital currency. The company says that the test launch will happen shortly, based on the algorithms of a special solution created for GBDC (Bhutan's digital currency). Ripple promises low fees and instant payments by implementing XRP Ledger algorithms for the new digital currency. The government is going to increase financial accessibility and convenience by 85% with Ripple technology and the introduction of digital currency. This is not the company's first experience in collaboration with the countries' banking institutions. This news will definitely be positive for investors who consider buying Ripple's token, as its algorithms will be used in transactions with the national digital currency.
The lawsuit remains the only reason why XRP is staying in the shadows. The last known fact was that the regulator received correspondence and talks records between representatives of Ripple and the SEC in 2017. No revelations are expected, but the emergence of new trial developments is very likely. XRP is trading in a narrow range and does not show signs of growth. The price of the token did not respond to the positive news and has fallen by 8% over the past 24 hours. As of 2:00 p.m., the asset is quoted at $0.908 with low trading volumes. All this is supported by ambiguous onchain activity, where the price clearly lags behind the number of unique addresses in the cryptocurrency network. At the same time, transaction volumes remain low. This indicates a lack of institutional interest in the asset and the weak activity of retail traders.
On the 4-hour chart, XRP's trend shows clear bearish sentiment and continues to fall. The bullish triangle formation has been completely failed and the price has dropped below the $1 mark and maintains a strong downward momentum. The only indicator that has started to recover is the RSI. It indicates a reversal and movement near the level of 40. Meanwhile, stochastic and MACD continue a strong downtrend, indicating a potential breakdown of the $0.900 mark if the trend continues on the daily chart.
On the daily chart, bulls are weakening and a rapid reversal downwards is seen. It suggests that the bears took the initiative. The key indicators continue to decline and the trend looks definitely bearish, which points to the breakdown of the support zone at $0.9 and a further drop to $0.850. Even high on-chain activity and positive news are unable to offset the fundamental factor that has halted the development of the Ripple project for several years.
