By The cryptocurrency market has given up some of its gains after underperforming over the last 24 hours.
Bitcoin, the leading cryptocurrency by market cap, tapped the $74,000 level on Wednesday but has now slightly retraced and trades around $70,000.
XRP, the native coin of the Ripple ecosystem, has also been consolidating around the $1.40 region since the start of the week.
While the derivatives and on-chain data have improved, risks remain due to the ongoing war in the Middle East after the United States and Israel attacked Iran on Saturday.
XRP is currently trading at $1.40, down from the $1.43 recorded on Thursday.
Institutional and retail interest remain steady
XRP is down by 2% in the last 24 hours and is now trading at $1.40 per coin.
The bearish performance comes despite institutional investors increasing their exposure to XRP exchange-traded funds (ETFs) over the past few days.
Official data revealed that in the last seven days, US-listed spot XRP ETFs have attracted inflows, with approximately $4 million recorded on Wednesday.
However, the ETFs recorded a net outflow of $4 million on Thursday as the markets retraced from the recent rally.
Franklin Templeton’s XRPZ accounted for all the outflows on Thursday as activity remained muted across the rest of the products.
Cumulative inflows remained positive, reaching $1.22 billion on Thursday, down from $1.26 billion the previous day.
Furthermore, retail interest in XRP continues to increase.
According to CoinGlass, XRP’s futures Open Interest (OI) reads $2.37 billion on Friday, up from the $2.35 billion recorded on Thursday.
While the OI holds significantly below the record $10.94 billion reached in July, the mild increase could help shape XRP’s short-term outlook if it holds.
XRP continues to consolidate around $1.40, eyes higher levels
The XRP/USD 4-hour chart remains bearish and efficient as the market has underperformed since Thursday.
XRP is trading around $1.40 on Friday, well below the 50-, 100-, and 200-day EMAs, all of which slope lower and underscore a dominant bearish backdrop.
Furthermore, the long-running descending resistance trend line continues to frame the broader downtrend.
The momentum indicators have improved since the start of the week and remain bullish.
The MACD lines remain marginally above the zero level, while the RSI at 55 on the 4-hour chart suggests a rising buying pressure.
Currently, XRP maintains a consolidation range between $1.50 and $1.33 on the daily chart.
If the bulls close the daily candle above $1.50, XPR could test the 50-day EMA at $1.56. An extended rally will bring the $1.67 February 15 swing high into focus.
However, if the recovery fails and XRP slips below $1.33, it could extend the downside risk to the resistance level at $1.10.
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