Former Ripple Chief Technology Officer and current CTO Emeritus David Schwartz sarcastically commented on the company's new sponsorship deal with the University of Kansas athletics department and the Kansas Jayhawks.
Ripple CEO Brad Garlinghouse previously announced that the XRP logo would appear on the teams' uniforms, marking the first such integration in the history of US college sports.
According to sports insiders, like Ben Portnoy, the major five-year contract is valued at approximately $30 million. Schwartz's post was an obvious inside joke as Ripple's multimillion-dollar marketing budget predictably went exactly where the CEO's personal loyalties pointed.
Schwartz entered the comments and replied briefly: "What an amazing coincidence!" The former CTO's reaction points to a well-known background, as Garlinghouse not only graduated from the university but has also served as one of its key donors for years.
What is happening with the XRP price?
While the brand expands into the sports sector, XRP is approaching a critical turning point on the price chart. The token is trading around $1.096 and forming a bear flag on the hourly chart.
Two scenarios are currently relevant:
- Bearish scenario: A break below the $1.07–$1.08 support zone would activate the pattern and send the price toward $1.04, where a large volume of limit buy orders is concentrated. A cascade of stop-loss orders from long positions could briefly push XRP below this level.
- Bullish scenario: A move above the $1.096 resistance level and consolidation above the psychological barrier at $1.10 would invalidate the bearish formation, opening the way toward the $1.14–$1.20 targets.
Despite the local technical pressure, opening short positions carries increased risk. Historical data shows that July has traditionally been a strong month for XRP, and the token's return since the beginning of the month currently stands at approximately 7%.
This matches the historical median and is moving toward July's average return of 9.92%. With summer liquidity remaining low, an attempt by sellers to push the price below $1.04 could end in a false breakdown followed by a rapid rebound.
While Ripple's marketing department spends $30 million stitching logos onto jerseys, XRP's short-term fate will be decided not in sports arenas but within the narrow $1.07–$1.10 price range.
