XRP Price Plunge: Unmasking the Upbit Factor

The recent XRP price crash, witnessing a dramatic -15% drop on July 23rd, has sparked intense speculation. Independent analyst Dom (@traderview2) points a finger at a single culprit: South Korean exchange Upbit. His analysis, featuring order book heatmaps and cumulative volume delta (CVD) data, reveals a staggering 75 million XRP sold on Upbit alone within 24 hours.

Dom’s CVD chart clearly illustrates the disparity. While major exchanges like Binance, Coinbase, and Kraken showed relatively flat activity, Upbit’s CVD plummeted, directly correlating with the XRP price drop. The analyst highlights Upbit’s role not only in the sell-off but also in the preceding price surge on July 11th, describing the entire sequence as a “pump and dump” orchestrated largely by Upbit’s trading activity.

Order book heatmaps support this claim, showcasing thin liquidity above the price, amplifying the impact of Upbit’s concentrated selling pressure. The resulting drop from highs above $3.5 to the $3.1 area is a testament to this market vulnerability.

The situation was further aggravated by significant liquidations in the XRP futures market. CoinGlass data reveals approximately $82.8 million in XRP futures long positions liquidated, adding to the downward pressure and amplifying the price decline. This forced deleveraging likely resulted in additional sell orders, compounding the initial drop originating from Upbit.

While the immediate impact is evident, Dom’s analysis focuses on a critical support level around $3. Maintaining this level is key to preserving the shorter-term bullish structure. The future direction of XRP, therefore, hinges heavily on whether this support holds.

At the time of writing, XRP is trading at $3.09. The situation highlights the impact of concentrated trading activity on a cryptocurrency’s price and the potential for significant volatility even in established digital assets.