The price of XRP remains under considerable pressure this December 18, 2025, after dropping below the psychological level of $2.00. The XRP network activity shows a persistent weakness that limits the chances of an immediate recovery for Ripple’s native token. Analyst Aaryamann Shrivastava warns that the lack of momentum in on-chain transactions compromises the asset’s current support levels.
Despite the bearish sentiment dominating the short-term market, HODL Waves data reveals a growing conviction among long-term investors. On the other hand, wallets holding their assets between one and two years have recently increased their share by 3%. This cohort of investors now controls approximately 11.5% of the total circulating supply of tokens currently in existence.
However, this accumulation by long-term holders appears to be a forced response to ongoing latent losses in the current market. Likewise, many mid-term investors are currently underwater and prefer not to sell their assets at significant financial losses today. The maturation of these portfolios into long-term positions reflects a willingness to endure the volatility of the crypto ecosystem.
Mismatch Between Market Valuation and Real Usage of Ledger Technology
Macroeconomic indicators suggest that challenges persist because the current valuation outpaces the actual use of the blockchain infrastructure. Moreover, the network value to transactions (NVT) ratio has reached a concerning three-month high in recent trading sessions. This technical imbalance weakens any attempt at a sustained rebound as the price lacks confirmed demand on-chain.
In this way, the XRP network activity has failed to keep pace with the optimistic expectations of various retail investors. Therefore, companies analyzing on-chain behavior point to a potential overheating in the digital asset’s price structure at this time. The fragility of the current momentum is manifested in a recurring inability to break the recent downward trend.
Can Technical Support Levels Prevent a Deeper Drop Toward the $1.70 Zone?
Currently, the token is trading near $1.86 and struggling to defend the vital support located at the $1.85 range. If selling pressure intensifies, the price could quickly drop toward $1.79, thus extending the accumulated short-term losses for traders. Maintaining this support level is crucial to avoid a major crash that would affect market participants’ confidence.
A real recovery scenario will fundamentally depend on a substantial increase in infrastructure usage by financial institutions and large banks. Nevertheless, a breakout above $1.94 would represent the first necessary step to attempt to reclaim the $2.00 mark soon. The market awaits signs of operational stability before validating a trend change toward the higher price levels of the asset.
