After overtaking ethereum to take the top two spot in cryptocurrency market cap rankings, XRP has slid back to third place and is struggling to stay afloat.

On its 4-hour chart, it can be seen that XRP is trending lower inside a descending channel with its lower highs and lower lows. The price recently bounced off the top and is currently testing the support at the mid-channel area of interest.

This happens to line up with the 38.2% Fibonacci extension level and the 200 SMA dynamic inflection point. On the subject of moving averages, the 100 SMA is still above the longer-term 200 SMA to indicate that the path of least resistance is to the upside. In other words, there’s still a chance for XRP to reverse from its slide.

RSI is pointing down, however, indicating that bears are regaining the upper hand. In that case, XRP could carry on with the drop to the next support area at the 50% extension just above the .3000 major psychological support or the 61.8% level in line with the swing low. The 78.6% extension lines up with the channel support at .2500 while the full extension is at .1737.

Stochastic also looks ready to turn lower to signal that selling pressure is about to return as well.

Many attribute the surge in ethereum to the upcoming Constantinople hard fork on January 16, which is expected to bring in a host of new features that would improve its capabilities. This switch in standings with Ripple likely led some investors to liquidate their XRP holdings and reestablish ETH long positions.

Still, there could be a lot of progress on Ripple’s front as it has been rumored that at least 12 companies are looking to work with the company on its payments platform. Keep in mind that it is already in partnership with more than a handful of institutions on its xCurrent messaging portal so a shift to using XRP would mean a big boost for the price.

Images courtesy of TradingView