XRP’s Price History Raises New Questions About Market Manipulation

XRP has long been one of the most talked-about cryptocurrencies in the market, known for both its dramatic price spikes and ongoing legal battles. But for many investors and analysts, what stands out the most is how XRP’s price history seems to reflect more than just natural market moves.

Looking back, analyst Jesse, on MaximusCrypto podcast said that one of XRP’s biggest moments came in late 2017. In just about two weeks, the token jumped from around $0.15 to over $3, a stunning 20x rally that caught the attention of the entire crypto world.

800x Gains in Less Than a Year

But in the middle of this surge, something unexpected happened. Data aggregator CoinMarketCap suddenly removed pricing data from several Asian exchanges, which were seeing the highest XRP trading volumes at the time. This move wasn’t announced in advance and caught the market off guard. Almost immediately, XRP’s displayed price began to drop, and many traders assumed the rally was over. Panic selling followed.

Interestingly, before that rally, XRP was trading at less than half a cent. In about eight months, it went from a few cents to over $3, a staggering 800x increase. It was one of crypto’s wildest price runs, but it was followed by years of stagnation.

Hope for the Future

Now, the analyst has been left wondering why XRP has struggled to regain those highs, especially given Ripple’s claims about partnerships. In 2018, Ripple CEO Brad Garlinghouse mentioned that the company had connected to many banks and was adding several new partners every week.

By that math, the network should have expanded massively by now. Yet, Ripple’s official statements still mention “over 300 banks,” a number that hasn’t changed in years, leaving many to question the accuracy of those claims.

This lack of price movement, despite growing adoption of RippleNet and ongoing developments, has led to growing belief among investors that XRP’s price is being deliberately held back. Some call it manipulation, others believe it’s market suppression. Either way, it’s a big point of frustration for XRP holders who expected the token’s value to reflect its growing network and use cases by now.

However, there’s hope that things could soon change. With crypto regulations tightening and the possibility of an XRP exchange-traded fund (ETF) in 2025, the long wait might be coming to an end.

Glassnode’s recent data on XRP’s realized profits and historical performance shows patterns of accumulation and price suppression, adding further weight to claims that the token’s market value has been held back.