XRP Sinks to February Low While Developers Ready Native Privacy and Core Software Revamp

XRP trades at $1.08, down 40% YTD, with oversold RSI below 21. Despite bearish price action, the XRP Ledger advances privacy (XLS-0096) and node software, while institutional inflows total $4M daily and exchange inventories shrink.

XRP has tumbled to its weakest level since February, trading at $1.08 — roughly 70% below its 2025 peak of $3.65 — yet the XRP Ledger’s engineering team is forging ahead with two major technical initiatives. The token’s year-to-date decline now approaches 40%, and the Relative Strength Index (RSI) has plunged into deeply oversold territory, with readings varying between 18.5 and 20.8 in recent sessions. The market’s stress is palpable: the Crypto Fear & Greed Index hovers between 12 and 17, and open interest in perpetual futures has dropped from $2.96 billion to $2.51 billion, while the funding rate turned negative at -0.0079%.

The centerpiece of the technical push is XLS-0096, a proposal aiming to bring native confidentiality to the ledger for the first time. It leverages EC-ElGamal encryption and zero-knowledge proofs to hide account balances and transaction amounts, while still allowing validators to monitor total asset supply — a guard against unnoticed inflation. A “selective disclosure” feature permits targeted transparency for regulators or auditors, a critical capability for institutional adoption. Initially the standard will apply to multi-purpose tokens such as stablecoins and tokenized real-world assets, not native XRP transactions. The timing is notable: on June 5, Zcash fell 36% after a critical bug in its Orchard pool enabled undetected token inflation, underscoring the risks of implementing privacy at the protocol level.

Separately, the XRP Ledger is preparing version 3.2.0 of its core software, which will reduce storage demands for node operators and rebrand the software from “rippled” to “XRPLd.” A detailed operating manual is being drafted by Ripple engineers and independent validators to ensure a stable mainnet rollout. The prior version, 3.1.3, was activated on May 27.

The bearish price action has broken a key support zone at $1.25, and the distance from the 200-day moving average has widened to over 30%. A swift reclaim of the $1.14 area is needed to prevent a test of even lower levels; the next resistance stands at $1.28, while the 50-day moving average near $1.38 remains the more consequential upside barrier.

Institutional flows tell a sharply different story. XRP ETFs recorded net inflows of roughly $4 million on June 4 alone, lifting cumulative inflows to approximately $1.5 billion. On a weekly basis, XRP investment products attracted $20.3 million, even as the broader digital asset market saw $1.5 billion in outflows. Exchange inventories are also shrinking: over 25 million tokens have been withdrawn from trading platforms in recent days, often interpreted as a signal that holders are moving coins to long-term storage rather than preparing to sell.

The derivatives infrastructure continues to expand despite the weak price backdrop. KalshiEX, a U.S.-regulated exchange, has applied for approval to list crypto perpetual futures, including cash-settled contracts on XRP, aimed at institutions hedging exposure or payment flows. Meanwhile, broader market pressure persists: Bitcoin slid toward $62,428, and Ethereum dropped to around $1,675.

The disconnect between XRP’s sinking spot price and these fundamental tailwinds remains stark. Whether the privacy upgrade and software overhaul can provide the catalyst for a reversal depends on a concrete activation date — one that has yet to be announced. For now, traders watch the $1.14 zone for signs of a technical bounce or a deeper slide.