XRP Falls to $2.79, Briefly Loses Number 3 Spot Amid $10.5M in Liquidations

On Aug. 22, XRP fell 3.4% to $2.79—its lowest price since Aug. 2—briefly losing its position as the third-largest crypto by market cap, which dropped to $166.9 billion before recovering slightly.

XRP’s Price Volatility and Market Cap

On Aug. 22, XRP continued its downward trajectory, dropping 3.4% to $2.79, marking its lowest price since Aug. 2. This latest decline caused XRP to briefly lose its standing as the third-largest digital asset by market capitalization, as its value plummeted to $166.9 billion. However, reversed some of the losses and retained its number three status by 9 a.m. Eastern time.

As shown by data, this is the second time XRP has dropped below the $2.80 mark in August as the digital asset struggles to reignite a bull run that saw it set a new all-time high of $3.66 on July 18. After its Aug. 2 plunge, XRP ranged between $2.90 and $3.30 until Aug. 19. However, since then, the digital asset has failed to break above $2.90, and on Aug. 22, it looked poised to make further losses.

XRP’s retreat meanwhile saw $10.5 million in long positions being liquidated in 24 hours, while short positions had $805,920 in liquidations.

While XRP’s latest tumble has sowed seeds of doubt among its supporters, some experts remain staunchly bullish, predicting the digital asset will still rally and even close the year trading above $4. This sentiment was echoed by crypto trader and analyst Casitrades, who, in an Aug. 21 post on X, warned that XRP is at a critical juncture that will likely determine its price trajectory in the near future.

“The structure is starting to look really interesting… XRP reaching its .618 retracement ($2.88), which lines up as the textbook subwave 2 target in Elliott Wave Theory. This is the “make or break” retracement level that defines whether a new bullish trend is valid or just a fakeout. Seeing XRP hold here is encouraging, especially with BTC reaching its RSI support at the same time!,” Casitrades explained in the post.

According to the analyst, future mapping points toward the resistance at $3.41, which should unfold in five subwaves. By 10 a.m. Eastern time, XRP has managed to reach the $2.99 per coin range.