Crypto’s Amazon? The XRP price depends on Ripple’s ability to improve its image

Distributed ledger startup Ripple is allegedly working to expand the usefulness of its native token, XRP, with the company’s CEO, Brad Garlinghouse, coming to compare the company with the titans of e-commerce, Amazon.

Meanwhile, investors appear to be getting optimistic as cross-border remittance tokens are at a crux of its trend.

Ripple promises to improve its image

Ripple is working tirelessly to improve its image inside and outside the cryptocurrency community.

Following a drastic reduction in token sales during the first quarter of 2020, the company faced backlash for selling approximately $ 32.6 million of XRP to institutional investors in the second quarter.

The 1.760% sales increase came after CEO Brad Garlinghouse realized that starting the distributed ledger “would not be profitable or positive cash flow” without selling this altcoin.

Given the amount of notoriety generated by Ripple’s “Q2 2020 XRP Markets Report”, Garlinghouse wanted to shift investor attention by announcing that its business model would rotate towards expanding the utility of its native token.

He said the company would aim to support business well beyond the international remittance scoop, just as Amazon has branched out into e-commerce.

“Amazon started out as a bookseller and just sold books. We started with payments. In two years, you will find that Ripple is for payments like Amazon was for books,” Garlinghouse said.

However, Santiment’s data reveals that Ripple’s commitment to creating a working product and continually refining its features does not reflect Garlinghouse’s marketing efforts.

Since the beginning of the year, development activity on the XRP network, as well as the token itself, has been steadily declining, suggesting that few investors are convinced of Ripple’s grand ambitions.

Ripple was also surprised to edit and remove a list of controversies on Garlinghouse’s Wikipedia profile, adding even more bearish sentiment.

The publisher deleted three lines from the page because the disputes weren’t about Garlinghouse himself:

“The first is about SWIFT, the second and third are about Ripple Labs,” and the last is about ties to a minor Kansas politician, the publisher explained.

Brad Garlinghouse’s page is relatively insignificant, but similar small-scale changes have been made multiple times.

For example, Ripple’s Wikipedia page has virtually no controversy discussion, while the Ripple Labs Wikipedia page features a large controversy section.

XRP looks poised to enter a new bullish cycle

The cross-border remittances token recently entered a phase of consolidation at a crucial level which forced the Bollinger bands to squeeze the 1-day chart.

Compressions are indicative of periods of low volatility and are usually followed by significant price movements. The longer the squeeze, the greater the likelihood of a strong breakout.

Since this technical index does not provide a clear path on the direction of the XRP trend, the area between the lower and upper bands is a reasonable no-trade zone. Only a candle close above or below these crucial obstacles will determine where this altcoin is headed.

However, some large investors appear to have bought Ripple’s marketing lead and are bracing for a bullish breakout.

Santiment’s holder distribution chart shows that the buying pressure behind XRP is increasing dramatically.

The behavioral analytics company has seen a significant increase in the number of addresses with millions of dollars in this token, colloquially known as “whales.”

Since August 17th, the number of addresses with 10 million or more of XRP has been growing sharply. About ten new whales have joined the network, an increase of 1.3% in such a short period.

The sudden rise in large investors may seem insignificant at first glance. However, when you consider that they hold over $ 2.9 million in XRP, the increased buying pressure can translate into millions of dollars.

If the buying frenzy by these big investors continues, Ripple may have the ability to enter a new bullish cycle.

Indeed, a break above the Bollinger Band above $ 0.032 would see the international settlements token rise towards $ 0.385. As a result, it will move past the mid-February high of $ 0.35 to hit a higher high for the first time since early 2018.

If that happens, XRP’s multi-year bearish trend will end and mark the beginning of a new bull market.

On the flip side, investors should beware of the Bollinger band below $ 0.28.

Turning this support level into resistance can result in a downside that sees XRP drop towards the 61.8% or 50% Fibonacci retracement level. These significant areas lie at $ 0.24 and $ 0.22, respectively.

It remains to be seen whether Ripple will finally live up to the expectations of XRP holders and the new ventures will not just be remembered as one of its unfulfilled promises.