The XRP currency has seen a sharp decline as pressure continues in the cryptocurrency market, with the currency's price dropping by about 15% over the week, 26% over two weeks, and more than 40% on an annual basis, clearly placing it within a downward trend in a market currently viewed as bearish.
With the fear and greed index recently reaching levels of extreme fear, many are wondering how XRP performed during long periods of recession in the crypto market.
Historically, XRP is considered one of the highly volatile altcoins compared to Bitcoin.
However, it differs from many other projects by being linked to a major American company, Ripple, which promotes a rapid settlement infrastructure for financial institutions and invests heavily in expansion, licensing, and products.
Nevertheless, this correlation has not prevented XRP from experiencing sharp downturn cycles.
In the first crypto winter of 2018, XRP dropped from peaks above $3 to around $0.30.
In the 2021 cycle, it rose to nearly $1.7 before returning and dropping again to the range of $0.35 in 2022, where it remained for a long time before a strong surge in late 2024 reaching new peaks in 2025.
This means that those who bought at the lows and sold near the peaks made significant returns, but after each upward wave, a harsh cooling stage would follow.
Currently, the market cap of XRP is around $85 billion, making achieving astronomical jumps less likely compared to earlier stages.
Investing in XRP remains controversial, as the currency does not provide its holders with direct returns and is primarily designed as a transfer medium, while its financial performance is not directly tied to Ripple's success as a company, despite the latter holding a large share of the supply and periodically selling it to fund its operations.
In summary, XRP has historically shown its ability to recover strongly after long periods of stagnation, but this does not necessarily mean that the same scenario will repeat.
Competition is intensifying, the market is maturing, and the possibilities of additional downturns remain before any potential recovery.
Therefore, dealing with XRP in the crypto winter remains contingent on understanding previous cycles without assuming they will repeat literally.
