18th December 2025 – (New York) XRP came under pronounced selling pressure on Wednesday, tumbling 5.04 per cent and losing the crucial US$1.92 support level as violent cross‑asset volatility swept through global markets during U.S. trading hours.
The downturn followed abrupt reversals across risk assets, with bitcoin staging a sharp intraday spike from around US$87,000 to above US$90,000 before rapidly retreating to the US$87,000 zone. At the same time, major U.S. equity benchmarks weakened, led by losses in artificial intelligence‑linked stocks such as Nvidia, Broadcom and Oracle, which dropped between 3 and 6 per cent and dragged the Nasdaq down by more than 1 per cent. Market sentiment deteriorated further after reports that Blue Owl Capital had withdrawn from funding a US$10 billion Oracle data centre project, undermining risk assets tied to AI infrastructure.
In this environment, liquidity in altcoins thinned and derivatives positions were aggressively reset, leaving mid‑beta tokens like XRP particularly exposed. Data from CoinGlass indicated that approximately US$190 million in cryptocurrency positions were liquidated within four hours, with about US$72 million in long positions and US$121 million in shorts wiped out. XRP marginally underperformed the broader digital asset market as derivatives‑driven flows weighed disproportionately on secondary‑tier tokens during the turbulence.
The break below US$1.92 marked a decisive shift in XRP’s short‑term technical structure. Former support in the US$1.94 to US$1.99 band has now flipped to resistance, with US$1.90 emerging as the immediate line of defence on the downside. Should this level fail to hold on a closing basis, traders are eyeing a deeper liquidity zone between US$1.75 and US$1.64 as the next potential support area. The psychologically significant US$2.00 threshold, which recently rejected price attempts to move higher, now stands as a firmly established ceiling.
Trading activity during the session underscored the intensity of the move. A rejection near US$1.9885 coincided with the day’s heaviest volume, indicating active distribution rather than passive profit‑taking. Market observers noted no clear signs of seller exhaustion, with the breakdown below a key Fibonacci retracement level confirming a tilt towards a more bearish configuration. A pattern of lower highs ahead of the failed push above US$2.00 suggested waning upside momentum, and the subsequent consolidation phase ultimately resolved to the downside, reinforcing the negative bias.
For now, analysts say the near‑term outlook hinges on several factors: whether XRP can stabilise above US$1.90, how price reacts if it retests the US$1.94 to US$1.99 resistance band, and whether broader macro volatility abates or continues to force cross‑asset deleveraging. Derivatives positioning following the US$190 million liquidation wave will also be closely watched, as renewed leverage on either side could dictate the next directional move. XRP’s relative performance against bitcoin, particularly if BTC holds near the US$87,000 region, is expected to provide further clues on risk appetite towards altcoins in the days ahead.
