TL:DR;

Ripples cross-border token took the recent market-wide meltdown quite badly, with its price dumping from over $2.7 to under $2 within days. The asset has recovered some ground but now sits at a pivotal level that will determine whether it resumes its bull run or slips once again. The start of the business week was quite bullish for XRP as the company behind it announced on Monday that its long-anticipated stablecoin will be officially released for trading on the next day.

XRP went on a massive run, surging from under $2.4 to above $2.7 by the time the launch date arrived. However, it reversed its trajectory shortly after, and the broader markets collapse took it south hard.

In fact, Ripples token came crashing by 28% from the aforementioned local peak to $1.96. Many XRP whales used this opportunity to stack up on more tokens, which perhaps helped the asset recover some ground as it pumped to almost $2.4 yesterday.

Nevertheless, it has lost its momentum once again and now struggles to remain above $2.2. According to popular crypto analyst Ali Martinez, this level is particularly significant for XRPs future price movements.

If it manages to maintain it, the token could resume its recent bullish activities and head toward $2.7 once again. In contrast, it risks falling beneath $2 for the third time in December if it breaks below it.

If $XRP can hold above $2.20, it might consolidate for a while before taking another shot at the $2.70 resistance. But if the $2.20 support breaks, a downswing to $1.96 becomes imminent. pic.twitter.com/cdtdtSwzKy

XRP indeed slipped below that line to $2.17 earlier today but managed to bounce off, at least for now. The next few days will be crucial to determine XRPs closing price at the end of the year and if there will indeed be a Santa Claus rally, as many expected.

With its most recent correction, XRPs market cap has dropped once again to under $130 billion. This means that it has lost its third-place position to USDT, whose market capitalization is close to $140 billion.