• XRP ticks up above $1.40 support, but waning retail demand suggests caution.
• XRP attracts $4 million in spot ETF inflows on Thursday, signaling renewed institutional investor interest.
• A weak derivatives market, with futures Open Interest dropping to $2.32 billion, may restrict XRP’s ability to sustain recovery.

Ripple (XRP) is trading above a critical support at $1.40 at the time of writing on Friday, signaling stability ahead of a potential breakout toward the weekly open of $1.48. 

The remittance token’s short-term bullish outlook mirrors subtle intraday gains characterising major crypto assets such as Bitcoin (BTC) and Ethereum (ETH). 

XRP maintains stability as ETF inflows return

XRP spot Exchange-Traded Funds (ETFs) attracted $4 million in inflows on Thursday, outpacing both Ethereum and Bitcoin ETFs, which saw outflows of $166 million and $130 million, respectively.

The cumulative ETF inflows stand at $1.23 billion, and total assets under management have risen above $1 billion. Despite the mild increase on Thursday, overall sentiment remains shaky, considering net assets have declined from the record $1.65 billion seen in early January.

The XRP derivatives market paints a grimmer picture, with futures Open Interest (OI) falling to $2.32 billion on Friday from $2.45 billion the previous day. For context, retail interest peaked at an annual high of $4.55 billion on January 6, which was significantly below the OI record high of $10.94 billion reached in July. 

Notably increased demand from retail traders indicates that investors are confident in XRP’s outlook and its ability to sustain an uptrend. Hence, traders should temper their expectations as futures OI continues to wane.

Technical outlook: XRP holds key support, eyes on a potential breakout

XRP remains above support at $1.40 despite its upside appearing limited by the downward-sloping 50-day Exponential Moving Average (EMA) at $1.69, the 100-day EMA at $1.90 and the 200-day EMA at $2.12. 

The SuperTrend indicator on the daily chart holds above XRP, seemingly capping potential rebounds at $1.72. This indicator integrates the Average True Range (ATR) to gauge market volatility and highlight the overall trend. 

Until the price rises above the SuperTrend and its colour turns green, the path of least resistance could remain adamantly downward. Subsequently, a daily close below the immediate $1.40 support may accelerate XRP downward toward the October 10 low at $1.25. The February 6 low sits slightly below at $1.12.

Still, the Moving Average Convergence Divergence (MACD) indicator remains above the signal line. At the same time, the green histogram bars expand, hinting at potential stability ahead of a breakout toward the weekly open at $1.48. Other key levels of interest to traders include Sunday’s high at $1.67 and the 50-day EMA at $1.69, which, if reclaimed, could mark a possibly bullish shift.