In a surprising market reversal, XRP’s price tumbled approximately 7% on Monday, even as its parent company, Ripple, secured a significant regulatory expansion in Singapore. The decline coincided with a dramatic surge in trading volume, which exploded by up to 92%, creating a stark contrast between fundamental progress and immediate price action.
The Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) has formally broadened Ripple’s Major Payment Institution License. This authorization permits Ripple Markets APAC, a subsidiary of Ripple, to provide a full suite of digital payment token services for the first time. These services now officially include transactions involving XRP and Ripple’s proprietary stablecoin, RLUSD.
This development marks a pivotal strategic achievement for the company. Singapore is being positioned as Ripple’s central operational hub for the entire Asia-Pacific region. Monica Long, President of Ripple, emphasized that regulatory clarity is a fundamental driver for innovation. On-chain data appears to support this view, showing a 70% year-over-year increase in network activity across the APAC region.
Paradoxically, the market responded to this positive development with intense selling pressure. XRP dropped to a low of $2.04 and is currently battling to hold the crucial support zone between $2.05 and $2.10.
Several clear warning signals emerged in the market data:
* Trading volume skyrocketed to $3.85 billion — a classic indicator of profit-taking during a price decline.
* Liquidations of long positions exceeded $1.23 million.
* The liquidation imbalance reached a dramatic 1,447%.
* Over-leveraged bullish traders were caught off guard.
Should investors sell immediately? Or is it worth buying XRP?
The downward momentum was not isolated to XRP. A hawkish signal from the Bank of Japan triggered a broad risk-off sentiment across financial markets, impacting Bitcoin, Ethereum, and the wider cryptocurrency sector.
Despite the price rout, activity among large investors reveals a complex narrative. Institutional interest continues to grow, evidenced by the launch of the fifth U.S. XRP spot ETF from 21Shares today. In November alone, over $666 million flowed into XRP-linked investment products.
Simultaneously, XRP exchange reserves have plummeted to multi-year lows of just 2.6 to 2.7 billion tokens, representing a 45% drawdown over 60 days. While such depletion typically signals accumulation, current data suggests that long-term holders (1-3 years) are selling into available liquidity to realize gains. However, a silver lining exists: since late November, large holders, or “whales,” have accumulated approximately 150 million XRP and are maintaining their positions despite the turbulence.
XRP now stands at a crossroads. The $2.05 level has become its key defensive line. A sustained break below this threshold could open the path toward $1.80 to $1.87. For a bullish reversal to gain traction, the token must first reclaim the $2.16 resistance level.
Monday’s events served as a potent reminder that fundamental victories do not guarantee immediate price appreciation. The disconnect between long-term utility and short-term speculative flows was on full display. While the liquidation of excessive long positions is a painful reset, it may also lay the groundwork for a more sustainable recovery.
