The XRP community is abuzz with discussions of potential price manipulation. This debate is fueled by observations from key figures from the XRP army, who are raising concerns over unusual price patterns despite significant developments.
XRP Price Manipulation: The Initial Spark
Edward Farina, XRP Healthcare’s Head of Social Adoption, first brought this issue to light. He pointed out that despite Ripple’s consistent flow of positive news and developments over the past year, the price of XRP has remained relatively unmoved.
Farina compared this stagnancy to the price behaviors of other cryptocurrencies, which he notes often experience price surges on the back of less impactful news.
His statement via X was unequivocal: “So Ripple has [had] major excellent news for the past 12 months and the price of XRP hasn’t budged an inch. Any useless coin as soon as it has a crappy partnership goes up in price. And you still believe the price of XRP isn’t manipulated?”
The influencer known as WallStreetBulls added to the debate by highlighting recent abrupt changes in the XRP price. He specifically referred to a rapid increase and subsequent decline yesterday, which he alleges was a manipulative pump-and-dump scheme, leading to significant profits for certain players.
He stated, “[Yesterday’s] rapid pump and dump of XRP, which resulted in a minimum profit of around $5 million for some, highlights the effectiveness of quick market movements and manipulation for substantial gains.” The crypto pundit further alleges a systematic suppression of XRP’s price.
He pointed to an incident where a rumor about a Blackrock ETP correlated with a sudden rise in the XRP price to $0.75, followed by a drop to $0.58, and then a stabilization at $0.60 to $0.62, NewsBTC reported. He interprets this as evidence of deliberate market manipulation by entities with significant financial resources.
Previously, in an October 9 post, WallStreetBulls had raised similar concerns, suggesting that a small fraction of “wealthy elites” and “major bankers” were manipulating the market. He claimed that these groups, known for manipulating markets like gold, are now targeting XRP.
“There’s a significant market manipulation underway, and it appears that the 0.01% wealthy elite and major bankers are at the helm of it!” the analyst claimed.
Despite XRP’s regulatory clarity, especially following a court victory against the SEC, he believes it’s facing undue negative pressure in the market. He also accused several media outlets of launching attacks on XRP, presumably to diminish its value and credibility.
Dissenting Voices And The Need For Proof
It is important to note that not everyone in the XRP community is agreeing with this view. Crypto analyst Jaydee offered a different perspective in October, suggesting that recent price movements were part of a predictable short-term technical correction rather than evidence of manipulation. “Manipulation? Brotha, we knew this short term correction was coming weeks ago? how does he have all these followers,” he remarked.
Moreover, it is crucial to underline that, to date, there is no concrete evidence to substantiate these claims of market manipulation. The inherent volatility of the crypto market leads to price fluctuations, which various factors such as investor sentiment, market trends, and global economic conditions directly influence. As the debate continues, it’s imperative for investors and observers to critically evaluate these claims.
At press time, XRP traded at $0.6024.
Featured image from Shutterstock, chart from TradingView.com
