Ripple (XRP) received some support from Bitcoin's bullish run in April, but may surge even more in May. Chart analysis and sentiment provide some clues about the market direction.
Altcoin investors who bought XRP 12 months ago are currently much more profitable. This asset has traded more than 330% higher on the year as it entered May, and that is why it could rise even further.
XRP buyers are profitable
Even traders who bought XRP on New Year's Eve before the peak of the bull run in January saw an increase of about 5% at the beginning of the month.
However, Ripple's leading payment coin did not perform as well as Bitcoin during the recovery in April. As May began, XRP rose 4% over the month while BTC increased by 13.5%. However, XRP did not perform as poorly as ETH in April – its biggest competitor, as ETH fell about 3% during the month. Here are 4 new signals in May indicating that XRP's price could rebound.
Inverted head and shoulders pattern
Source: Ali
XRP has a strong bullish chart formation from April. This means buyers will find momentum.
Technical analyst Ali Martinez wrote in a post on April 28 that XRP price 'appears to be breaking out of an inverted head and shoulders pattern.'
Ali identified a potential bullish target range for XRP between $2.7 and $2.9 – an increase of over 30% since early May.
Although this may seem astonishing by stock market standards, such performance is not unusual for many altcoins like XRP.
Eric Trump criticizes SWIFT, banks 'could go extinct'
The group of U.S. Republican lawmakers friendly to cryptocurrency has just added momentum to the Ripple community with recent comments from President Donald Trump's son, Eric Trump.
Speaking with Dan Murphy in an interview in the UAE, Eric Trump criticized the traditional financial system. According to him, the global SWIFT payment system and banks 'could go extinct' in a few years due to cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin and XRP.
'SWIFT is a real disaster. Not a week goes by without me trying to send or receive money on Friday afternoon and worrying whether I will arrive before the 4 PM closing time or not seeing the money that was supposed to arrive during normal business within 72 hours.'
SWIFT is likely the biggest competitor to Ripple in terms of market share for its XRP tokens. If Ripple captures even a small portion of the trillions of dollars in volume from the old system, then the exchange market is likely to value this payment coin highly.
XRP Futures ETF approved, when will spot trading come?
Source: Eric Balchunas
In the last week of April, Bloomberg's senior ETF analyst Eric Balchunas posted an update on the odds from the Bloomberg Intelligence team that the SEC will approve more cryptocurrency ETF applications this year. He stated that there is a 'high likelihood' that all these applications will occur in 2025.
According to Bloomberg, the approval rate for XRP in the latest SEC ETF forecast has risen to 85%. The increasing trend towards incorporating XRP into managed investment funds on Wall Street is becoming a positive driver for this coin's value.
When Bitcoin became operational on multiple ETFs in January 2024, its price surged for months to a new all-time high. Therefore, institutional acceptance on a similar scale is particularly exciting for the capital markets.
The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) is expected to take its next steps on June 17. Therefore, the market will closely monitor potential news developments regarding XRP at that time.
There may be a new direction or timeline for approving a series of XRP ETF products that will reveal new information about the current market valuation.
Meanwhile, two issuers have received SEC approval to launch XRP Futures ETF in April. This could be a test of Wall Street's demand for new XRP ETFs once they get the green light.
'Strong buy' XRP at the beginning of May
Not only technical signals but also favorable political winds and regulatory approvals support Ripple's bullish outlook in May. Additionally, there are technical signals in the market price charts.
According to TradingView data, XRP shows strong buy signals over a one-month period based on all moving averages (MA). The exponential and simple moving averages for XRP over 10, 20, 30, 50, 100, and 200 days all recommend 'buy' by the end of the week.
Disclaimer: This article is for informational purposes only and is not investment advice. Investors should do their due diligence before making decisions. We are not responsible for your investment decisions.