XRP Price Outlook Grim as Traders Go Short, Exchange Inflows Increase

XRP Price Outlook Grim as Traders Go Short, Exchange Inflows Increase

XRP Faces Bearish Pressure Despite Positive Exchange Inflows

XRP saw a shift in momentum early Thursday as net inflows to centralized exchanges turned positive after days of outflows. Over $15 million in XRP flowed into exchanges, primarily to Bybit and Kraken, according to Coinglass data. While this increased activity follows a record-breaking month for XRP’s decentralized exchange (DEX), the inflows may signal potential selling pressure, which could hinder a price recovery.

Despite the renewed focus on XRP, perpetual futures markets indicate a bearish sentiment. The token's 8-hour funding rates stood at -0.0065%, more negative than Bitcoin (BTC) and Ethereum (ETH), suggesting traders are favoring short positions that profit from price declines. Negative funding rates mean short sellers are paying long-position holders to maintain their bearish trades, reinforcing the downward bias.

XRP Trading Below Key Levels

Currently, XRP is struggling to break past key technical resistance levels. It is trading below both the 10-day exponential moving average (EMA) at $2.84 and the 21-day EMA at $2.88, indicating a short-term bearish trend. Immediate resistance sits at $2.49, with another hurdle at $2.60. If the token surpasses these levels, it could regain bullish momentum and retest the $3 mark, which it breached in January for the first time since 2018.

However, the long-term outlook remains more optimistic. The 100-day simple moving average (SMA) is positioned just above $2, and the 200-day SMA sits at $1.30, both below current trading levels. This suggests that while short-term price action remains weak, the broader trend still leans bullish.

Market Indicators Remain Neutral

XRP’s 14-day relative strength index (RSI), which measures price momentum, was hovering just above 36 as of Thursday’s Asian trading hours, placing it in neutral territory. An RSI below 30 indicates oversold conditions, while values above 70 suggest an asset is overbought. XRP’s current RSI suggests neither extreme, meaning the market is awaiting a clearer directional move.

Traders will be closely watching whether XRP can reclaim key resistance levels in the coming days or if negative sentiment in futures markets will push prices lower.