Research Firm Declares that XRP’s Bearish Run 

XRP is one of the most highly criticized cryptocurrencies. The asset’s performance in light of the broader market has left much to be desired, and people have been unafraid to call it out. The latest firm to give its negative opinions on the fourth-largest cryptocurrency is crypto research firm Weiss Crypto Ratings.

Ripple’s Continued Waning Performance Calls for Worry

In a tweet published on Friday, the Palm Beach, Florida-based research firm explained that XRP appears to be experiencing a bear market, as its price continues to dip further.

“#XRP appears to be in a bear market. It keeps making lower highs and lower lows, with the most recent low being as early as May of this year,” the company pointed out. 

In truth, XRP hasn’t been having quite the best year. Like many other large-cap cryptos, the asset slid in mid-March and eventually rose in value. However, its rise has been lackluster compared to those of Bitcoin and other large-cap names.

XRP is 66 percent up from March 13, while Bitcoin and Ether have risen by 150 and 160 percent in the same period. While its rally has been impressive, it still doesn’t compare to some of its contemporaries.

Famous stock analyst Peter Brandt has also chimed in, explaining that XRP should retrace 90 percent against Bitcoin. Per a report from CryptoSlate, Brandt explained earlier this month that XRP had slid below a critical comfort level. By failing to recapture that region, XRP could fall by as much as 90 percent to a value of just 194 satoshis. 

Inflation and Ripple’s Neglect Could be to Blame

As for why XRP’s value is shrinking, there doesn’t appear to be a definitive reason. However, one significant possible factor could be the asset’s seemingly high inflation levels.

Last month, data from crypto analysis firm Messari indicated that XRP’s circulating supply had risen by 20 percent in the past year. The level was the highest amongst large-cap cryptos, and up to five times the inflation level of Bitcoin.

Despite the increase in circulating supply, XRP’s price didn’t see much of a shift. Researcher Florent Moulin shared on Twitter that in the same period, XRP is down by as much as 47 percent.

Moulin also compared how much of the max asset supply is now in circulation. He pointed out that only 30 percent of Ripple’s max supply is available, while Bitcoin had up to 87.5 percent released.

Ripple Inc., the developer of the asset, also appears to have shelved it for now. 2019 saw Ripple make some significant moves, all of which saw the company achieve a valuation of $10 billion. However, none of these notable moves involved XRP to a considerable degree. Instead, they’ve been more centered on the company’s on-demand liquidity (ODL) products, xRapid and xCurrent.

However, the company has been doing some XRP promotion of its own recently. Last week, the company published a policy paper where it touted XRP to Indian lawmakers and encouraged them to develop effective regulatory policies to govern the use of cryptocurrencies.