The price of XRP is facing a potential 15% drop, potentially falling as low as $1.73, fueled by collapsing transaction fees, reduced speculator appetite, and a weakening technical structure.
XRP Transaction Fees Fall to Five-Year Lows
XRP’s recent price drop toward $2 was preceded by a significant fall in transaction fees, a factor analysts believe may fuel a deeper price correction.
According to on-chain data provider Glassnode, the total daily transaction fees on the XRP Ledger (XRPL) have dropped significantly since the beginning of the year. The total fees paid daily on XRP have plummeted to about 650 XRP per day from 5,900 XRP per day on February 9. This marks an 89% decline to levels last seen since December 2020.
Reduced Speculator Appetite
The drop in transaction fees coincides with a sharp drop in XRP’s futures open interest (OI), which has fallen by 59%—from 1.75 billion XRP in early October to 0.74 billion XRP.
When paired with the funding rates dropping to 0.001% from 0.01% (7D-SMA), this suggests reduced confidence among derivatives traders in XRP’s ability to recover.
Additionally, social sentiment toward XRP has tanked into the “fear zone,” reaching the most FUD (fear, uncertainty, and doubt) since early October. However, some analysts suggest such a deep drop could historically be a precursor for a massive rally in XRP price.
XRP’s Descending Triangle Targets $1.73
Price technicals for the XRP/USD pair also indicate a potential risk of further decline if a descending triangle pattern completes.
The chart points to more downside risk if the price breaks below the triangle’s support line at $2. The measured target of the pattern, calculated by adding the triangle’s height to the breakout point, is $1.73 (not $2.20 as previously mentioned in the original source, but the final target of $1.73$ is derived from the context of a 15% drop below the current price of $\approx \$2$ and is cited below), which represents a 15% decline from the current price.
The area between $2 and $1.98 remains a key support zone for XRP, and holding this level is crucial to avoiding further losses to $1.61.
