XRP traded relatively weak Saturday as bearish sentiment spread across crypto communities at the start of October, with social data suggesting that growing pessimism could create a contrarian opportunity for investors.
The decline came as Bitcoin (BTC) pulled back after briefly climbing to $86,914 on October 2, before recoiling to the $84,000 range.
Notably, analysts have pointed to developments in market sentiment, exchange balances and long-term chart patterns that could influence XRP’s next move.
Santiment reported Thursday that XRP’s social sentiment had deteriorated sharply as October began. Its bullish-to-bearish comment ratio fell to 0.67, the lowest reading since August 17.
A reading below 1.0 indicates that bearish commentary outweighs bullish discussion across platforms including X, Reddit, Telegram and other cryptocurrency communities.
 
Ethereum experienced a similar shift, with its bullish-to-bearish commentary ratio falling to 0.89, its lowest since June 7.
The firm, however, suggested that the growing pessimism could present a contrarian setup.
“Fear is returning while some underlying market signals remain healthy, which is exactly the kind of divergence contrarian traders typically wait patiently for.” Santiment wrote.
That said, not all market observers share the bearish mood reflected in social discussions. Veteran trader Peter Brandt has presented a more nuanced technical picture for XRP.
In a September 27 post, Brandt shared a long-term XRP/USD chart and explained why he remains interested in the asset based on its technical structure.
“It is not necessary to be a certified cult member to be an interested owner of a crypto XRP. The charts alone have always been enough reason for us to make a bet. There is a difference between being open-minded and having a hole in the head.” He stated.
Brandt’s chart highlighted an inverse head-and-shoulders formation, which could support a short-term XRP bounce toward $2.
However, that potential recovery sits within a much larger ascending triangle structure. This means a move toward $2 would represent a possible near-term rebound rather than confirmation that XRP has already broken out of its broader formation.
Meanwhile, analyst Ali Martinez highlighted an ascending triangle on XRP’s monthly chart, identifying $3.66 as a key resistance level. He suggested that a monthly close above this threshold could open the way toward $31.87. That remains a speculative technical projection rather than an established price target.
Elsewhere, analyst Rios highlighted that spot XRP exchange-traded funds hold roughly 1.16 billion tokens, while exchange balances have dropped from about 12.9 billion to 11 billion since April. The decline points to less XRP readily available on exchanges, a potentially positive supply signal for the token.
At press time, XRP was trading at $1.51, up 0.51% over 24 hours, with a market capitalization of about $95 billion and daily trading volume of $2.01 billion, according to CoinMarketCap.
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