Why is XRP price down today?

XRP is underperforming the crypto market on Feb. 17, down 4% in the last 24 hours to trade at $2.68 on Feb. 17.What to know:XRP is seeing losses for the second day in a row after being rejected by the resistance level at $2.85.In comparison, the global crypto market capitalization dropped 1% to $3.2 trillion.Nearly $6.5 million worth of XRP futures positions have been liquidated over the last 24 hours, with long liquidations amounting to $5 million.XRP technicals hint at further declines of key levels to not hold.XRP open interest drops nearly 50%XRP’s inability to sustain the latest recovery can be attributed to reduced interest among derivatives traders as they continue to unwind their positions, indicating a loss of speculative momentum.Key points:XRP’s open interest (OI) has also dropped 47% in the past 30 days, signaling a decline in trader participation.The funding rate has flipped positive at 0.0040% but remains far below its December peak of 0.0966%, suggesting a weaker bullish conviction.The low OI and funding rates suggest that leveraged traders are exiting their positions, triggering forced selling.Meanwhile, the odds of a spot XRP exchange-traded fund (ETF) approval on Polymarket have dropped from 81% on Feb. 14 to 78% at the time of writing, adding to the bearish sentiment in the market.As earlier reported by Cointelegraph, the betting odds for an XRP ETF approval in 2025 increased to 81% on Feb. 14 following the news that Grayscale’s XRP and DOGE ETF filings had officially been acknowledged by the US SEC. Bloomberg ETF analysts James Seyfartt and Eric Balchunas believe that an XRP ETF has a 65% chance of being approved by the SEC in 2025.XRP price runs into resistance at $2.85XRP price is falling after losing a critical support level.XRP’s 26% rally between Feb. 7 and Feb. 15 was stopped by supplier congestion around the $2.85 level. XRP also lost key support at $2.68 on Feb. 17, around the 50-day SMA. The price must flip this level back into support to avoid a deeper correction.However, the potential bull flag pattern is still in play on the daily timeframe. XRP price now has support at $2.35, which is the upper boundary of the flag. A decisive close above the resistance level at $2.85 and later a rise above the multi-year high of $3.40, accompanied by high volume, could see XRP price rally toward the bullish target of the prevailing chart pattern at $6.40.Meanwhile, the bullish cross produced by the MACD on Feb. 14 is still in play, suggesting that the market conditions still favor the upside. However, if XRP closes below the daily support level of $2.35, it would risk a decline to test its next support level at $1.96.Popular analyst Dark Defender spotted XRP price trading within a consolidation channel and said it needs to overcome the resistance at $2.80 before making a run from $3.00 into double digits.Hello all. #XRP is trying to claim the $2.7740 level. If successful, then $3 will be in play.Breaking this channel heralds 2 Digits levels first!Enjoy your Sunday!#XRPCommunity #XRPArmy, #Ripple pic.twitter.com/n3r7F5NfstThis article does not contain investment advice or recommendations. Every investment and trading move involves risk, and readers should conduct their own research when making a decision.