Ripple Weekly Forecast: XRP/USD stares into consolidation under $0.20 as Bitcoin spikes past $9,600

• Ripple is working on a cloud-based RippleNet service to grow adoption easily among financial institutions.
• XRP/USD false breakout above $0.20 highlights the low trading volume in XRP markets.

Ripple price has been lethargic in trading this week. On the downside, support established at $0.19 averted the sellers’ mission to retest May lows at $0.1750. Over the last 24 hours, there was an incredible performance in prices across the board especially for Bitcoin (BTC). Ripple is back to trading under $0.20 following a 1.05% loss on the day.

BTC/USD pulled above $9,000 two days ago but the action did not stop there. The American session on Thursday paved the way for more upward movement. Bitcoin for the first time in one week stepped past $9,600. Unfortunately, BTC/USD hit a snag at $9,609 leading to a reversal initially under $9,600 and later extended below $9,500. At the time of writing, BTC has a market value of $9,471 after losing 1.12% of its value on the day.

Ethereum is battling to remain afloat past $220 after the recovery hit a snag at $225. If the support at $220 fails, the price could plummet to test $210 support. Meanwhile, ETH/USD is trading at $220.62 amid a growing bearish momentum and low volatility.

Cryptocurrency industry overview:

Ripple as a blockchain solutions provider is reportedly launching a cloud-based payments platform to support instant XRP transfers in a bid to push for adoption. The idea is to provide banks and other financial institutions with access to Ripple’s services without having to spend money on set up costs linked to hardware or even staff. The cloud-based platform will provide additional access to Ripple’s flagship product, On-demand Liquidity (ODL).

RippleNet Cloud also makes it easy for financial institutions to add alternative settlement through On-Demand Liquidity. Cloud customers can also maintain and make new connections more easily, through one API for all of their RippleNet connections.

In regard to regulation, the Chief Executive Officer, Brad Garlinghouse this week told the United States regulators to take a step back and reexamine the policies put in place. In his opinion, changing the regulatory sphere is the only way to battle other countries such as China which has made tremendous progress with its upcoming national digital currency. Garlinghouse is worried that the US will have a very hard time catching up with China whose “grip on both crypto and fiat payments becomes stronger.”

Ripple Price Forecast: XRP/USD consolidation could last longer

The breakout above $0.20 was unsupported due to the low trading volume for XRP markets. This has led to losses under the short term support at the 38.2% Fibo of the last drop from $0.3468 to a low at $0.109. This Fibonacci zone is now functioning as the immediate resistance. Also limiting upward movement is the 50-day SMA. On the downside, support is expected at $0.1950 and $0.1900. These support areas are anticipated to hold during the weekend session.

Towards the north, the main goal for the bulls is to keep the price above $0.20; a move that could help them shift the focus to $0.30. According to the prevailing technical picture, it was too early to think that XRP consolidation is over. The RSI clearly shows that the sideways action would take precedence in the coming sessions. The same sideways action is also supported by the MACD as it grinds sideways around the mean line.

XRP/USD daily chart