Ripple price analysis: Bears clutch XRP/USD in a death grip, $0.40 under threat

• XRP/USD broke below critical support zone amid global crypto sell-off.
• A sustainable move above $0.4170 is a pre-condition for a recovery.

XRP/USD is changing hands at $0.4056, losing over 13% in recent 24 ours. The downside momentum is gaining traction following the break below critical congestion zone $0.4400-$0.4430. The third largest coin has the market capitalization of $16.2B, while an average daily trading volume is registered at $660B, nearly double from Wednesday’s figures.

What’s going on

 Ripple’s XRP is one of the worst-performing coins out of top-10. The asset has lost nearly a quarter of its value in recent 7 days, retracing after a strong rise at the end of September caused by the upcoming xRapid launch into commercial operation. As it often happens, the news was overhyped, the coin was overpriced, while traders were overexcited. Now everything returns to a normal balanced state, in line with the global market.

XRP/USD, the technical picture

From the technical point of view, XRP/USD is trying to settle above $0.4000 after a short-lived dip to $0.3850 during early Asian hours. The local resistance is noted at the congestion zone $0.4150-70.  Once itis cleared, the recovery will gain traction and push the price towards $0.4400-$0.4430 (former support). Pivot Point weekly, Support 2 on approach to $0.4350 is likely to slow down the upside, while the ultimate resistance is created by 61.8% Fibo retracement under $0.4500.

On the downside, the local support is produced by the psychological $0.4000, followed by $0.3850 (Asian high).  Once this hurdle is out of the way, the sell-off may be extended towards $0.36.

XRP/USD, the daily chart