XRP traded firmly on Saturday, extending a recovery that began on Thursday after the cryptocurrency bounced from a key multi-month support zone near $1.34.
The rebound has reignited optimism among investors who have endured months of frustrating sideways price action.
Notably, since February, XRP has largely remained trapped within a broad trading range despite several bullish developments surrounding Ripple and the XRP Ledger ecosystem.
Meanwhile, one factor contributing to the latest rebound may be the extreme pessimism that has recently gripped the market. As ZyCrypto reported, data from the 30-day Market Value to Realized Value (MVRV) metric showed that the average XRP trader active over the past month was sitting on losses of approximately 47%.
Historically, such deeply negative MVRV readings have often signaled periods when an asset becomes significantly undervalued. The metric recently fell to its lowest level since December 2020, suggesting that fear and capitulation among traders may have reached levels that have previously preceded major price recoveries.
 
At the same time, whale activity on the XRP network has slowed considerably. Large transactions valued at more than $1 million have dropped from 157 to just 67, representing a decline of more than 57%. While the reduction indicates lower participation from major holders, some analysts view it as a sign that selling pressure from large investors may be easing.
Adding to the optimism is a prediction by YoungHoon Kim, a South Korean influencer who claims to hold the world’s highest IQ, 276.
“My analysis is final: XRP will reach between $5 and $10 this cycle.” Kim tweeted on Thursday.
Despite lacking supporting analysis, the prediction quickly gained traction within the crypto community as XRP rebounded from recent lows. Earlier this week, Kim suggested that June 2 is when Bitcoin will “start the fire” and XRP will “shock the world.”
Meanwhile, analyst Celal Kucuker highlighted what he describes as XRP’s “incredible strength” on longer-term charts. According to Kucuker, the asset continues to respect an ascending channel in place since approximately 2017.
Based on that structure, the analyst believes XRP could potentially reach as high as $17 during the current bull market cycle, a move that would dramatically increase its market capitalization and potentially place it in direct competition with Ethereum.
Not all analysts are focused on ambitious price targets, however. Crypto analyst DonWEedge urged traders to remain patient as XRP continues to trade within its established range.
“XRP is sitting right at the support of the horizontal channel. This is the level that has to hold to keep the structure intact. Watch the reaction here, the bounce or the break tells us the next move…,” he told his 233,000 followers on X.
Beyond price action, XRP’s underlying ecosystem has continued to expand. According to a report shared by Messari, the XRP Ledger’s real-world asset (RWA) market capitalization surged 124% quarter-over-quarter to $2.25 billion during the first quarter of 2026. The supply of Ripple USD (RLUSD) also increased by 45%, while daily transactions on the network jumped 35% over the same period.
These growing fundamentals, combined with improving market sentiment and bullish analyst forecasts, have strengthened expectations that XRP’s lengthy consolidation phase may eventually give way to a more decisive breakout in the months ahead.
At press time, XRP was trading at $1.34, reflecting a 1.97% surge in the past 24 hours.
Be the first to comment