XRP slid after being rejected near the $1.55 resistance zone, falling almost 8% in the immediate move and trading around $1.43 at the time of reporting (about a 6% daily decline). Despite short-term weakness, a market analyst has highlighted a long-term chart pattern that could point to much higher prices over the coming years.
Long-term Cup-and-Handle Forming
ChartNerd, a market watcher on X, outlined a multi-year Cup and Handle pattern in XRP that appears to have been developing since 2018. According to the analysis, the cup portion completed during the mid-2025 rally and the handle has been forming since XRP hit its most recent all-time high. The analyst noted that the setup lines up with a broader macro structure and layered support and resistance zones that have historically influenced XRP’s multi-year cycles.
Key technical areas highlighted include a possible retest of a Gaussian Channel area that has acted as a confluence zone over the past nine years. Within the cup formation, XRP experienced several similar retests, and the cycle low in 2017 coincided with that channel. ChartNerd suggested the $0.70–$0.90 range could mark the bottom of the handle, overlapping the 0.50 Fibonacci retracement level and serving as a logical support area if the market corrects further.
Risk and target levels
The analyst has previously warned that a rejection from the $1.60–$1.80 zone is plausible and could drive XRP back toward a cycle bottom near $0.70 later in the year — a prior macro resistance level that has not been fully retested. Still, the longer-term view includes bullish Fibonacci extensions once the pattern resolves: a near-term extension around $8, and higher potential targets around $13 and $27 if momentum resumes.
Fractal similarity to 2017 cycle
ChartNerd also pointed out a fractal resemblance to the 2017–2018 cycle, when XRP underwent an extraordinary expansion. Ahead of that breakout, XRP retested its multi-year ascending support multiple times and then surged. Since 2020 the cryptocurrency has been tracing an ascending support line that has held for roughly six years, and the current descending channel and handle could set up a third retest of that trendline.
If the pattern plays out similarly to prior cycles, the analyst suggested a possible multi-month rally that could amount to roughly a 2,000% expansion from a handle bottom, potentially putting XRP into double-digit price territory. For historical context, the 2017 move produced gains on a far larger scale, which ChartNerd referenced when noting the repeating setup.
A cautious outlook
These observations are chart-based scenarios, not guarantees. The pattern implies that further downside to the $0.70–$0.90 range remains possible before any major breakout. Conversely, if the handle fails or macro conditions shift, outcomes could differ materially.
At the time of writing XRP is trading around $1.43, showing short-term weakness while a multi-year technical setup continues to develop. Investors should weigh risk, timeframe, and market conditions before making trading decisions.