SINGAPORE, Feb 5, 2026, 20:09 SGT
- XRP dropped roughly 10% to about $1.44, marking its steepest single-day fall since October, according to market data.
- Bitcoin and ether dropped roughly 7% apiece, deepening the wider risk-off trend hitting markets.
- A technical analyst pointed to a potential “washout” phase but warned that prices might drop further before that happens.
XRP dropped roughly 10% on Thursday, slipping to around $1.44. This marked its biggest one-day percentage decline since October, according to market data.
The drop came as investors shied away from risk, triggering a tech-driven equity selloff and renewed swings in other assets that rattled sentiment. “Will we see the wheels start to come off a bit?” asked Craig Inches, head of rates and cash at Royal London Asset Management. (Reuters)
For XRP, this move carries weight. As one of the largest tokens by market cap, it often sees sharper swings than bitcoin during rapid selloffs. The recent drop has intensified a well-worn debate among crypto traders: are we witnessing a late-stage forced selloff—a “washout”—or is the market simply breaking down?
By 01:02 (06:02 GMT), XRP had dropped to $1.4404, shedding 10.02% on the day, according to Investing.com. That slide cut its market cap to around $87.77 billion and marked a 23.22% fall over the last week, the report noted. (Investing)
Bitcoin hovered around $70,823 on the same index, dropping 7.58% for the day. Ether also slipped, down 7.61% to roughly $2,104, the data revealed.
Technical analyst XForceGlobal called the current market a “washout” phase within a larger corrective pattern, suggesting it could pave the way for a rally to the $20–$30 range. In a Feb. 3 video, he said the market won’t reverse simply because prices are cheap, but rather due to seller exhaustion. (Tradingview)
Elliott Wave analysis attempts to break down price movements into recurring “waves” of ups and downs. Traders frequently combine it with Fibonacci ratios—basic math levels—to pinpoint possible turning points. But the approach remains controversial, and its signals don’t always hold up.
XForceGlobal identified a choppy range between about $1.50 and $1.08–$1.09 as a potential base-building zone, but only once the stock completes a five-wave drop and shows signs of a reversal pattern, the report noted.
Bulls face the danger that what starts as a “washout” could turn into a prolonged decline, especially if forced selling picks up and liquidity remains tight. Christopher Wong, a strategist at OCBC, described the current market as caught in “losses feeding into one another and creating a self-reinforcing feedback loop amid thin market liquidity.” (Reuters)
Long-term predictions remain wildly varied. On Binance Square, BitcoinWorld outlined a bullish case for XRP hitting $5 by decade’s end, hinging on real-world adoption and favorable regulations. But it also warned of stiff competition from rivals like Stellar and potential liquidity crises. (Binance)
XRP, the native token of the XRP Ledger, powers Ripple’s payments network for cross-border transfers, Coinbase noted. (Coinbase)
Right now, traders are weighing if Thursday’s drop signals a clear end to the selloff or the beginning of a bigger reset. Bitcoin’s next move continues to set the tone for the rest of the crypto market.
