Peter Brandt Turns Bearish on XRP Price Despite Ripple’s Push for Multichain Expansion

Veteran trader Peter Brandt has struck a bearish tone on XRP price, warning that the token may be forming a classic double-top pattern. His stance comes despite Ripple accelerating ecosystem growth through multichain stablecoin expansion and new institutional tools for XRP holders.

Brandt’s caution comes at a moment when XRP’s fundamentals and infrastructure narrative appear to be strengthening, creating a growing disconnect between technical signals and long-term adoption developments.

Brandt Flags Potential Double-Top Risk for XRP Price

The veteran chartist highlighted what he views as a potentially bearish setup on the XRP price chart. According to Peter Brandt, XRP may be forming a double-top, an often-cited reversal pattern that emerges when an asset fails to break above resistance after two attempts.

Double-top patterns in technical analysis typically signal waning bullish momentum and can precede deeper pullbacks if confirmation follows.

“I know in advance that all you Riplosts XRP will forever remind me of this post — ask me if I care. This is a potential double top,” Brandt wrote.

The XRP price has been consolidating after its late-2024 rally, placing greater focus on whether support levels can hold.

However, Brandt also acknowledged that the pattern could fail, leaving room for alternative interpretations.

“Sure, it may fail, and I will deal with this if it does. But for now, this has bearish implications. Love it or not — you need to deal with it,” he added.

Analysts Highlight Bullish Historical Context

Other market analysts see the current setup very differently. Analyst Steph is Crypto pointed to XRP’s recurring behavior around its 50-week simple moving average (SMA), arguing that prior cycles suggest downside exhaustion rather than the start of a larger decline.

“Every cycle, when XRP breaks below the 50-week SMA and stays there for roughly 50–84 days, a strong rally has followed,” the analyst noted.

Historical examples include a 211% rally after 70 days below the SMA in 2017, a 70% move following 49 days in 2021, and an 850% surge after 84 days in 2024.

The XRP price has now spent roughly 70 days below its 50-week SMA, placing it squarely within the same historical window..

The analysis suggests that what appears bearish in isolation could align with past cycle bottoms, mirroring the current split in technical interpretation.

Ripple Expands RLUSD Across Layer 2 Networks As Institutional Access Continues to Grow

While technical debate intensifies, Ripple continues to expand its ecosystem. On December 16, the company announced that its US dollar stablecoin, Ripple USD (RLUSD), will expand to Optimism, Base, Ink, and Unichain.

It leverages Wormhole’s Native Token Transfers (NTT) standard for multichain interoperability.

RLUSD was initially issued on the XRP Ledger and Ethereum. The Layer 2 rollout is designed to improve scalability, liquidity movement, and real-world utility across DeFi and institutional platforms.

Ripple emphasized that RLUSD is issued under a trust charter granted by the New York Department of Financial Services (NYDFS). This positions it as one of the most tightly regulated stablecoins entering Layer 2 ecosystems.

The company has also applied for a US OCC charter and recently gained regulatory recognition in Dubai and Abu Dhabi.

Wormhole added that XRP holders will be able to use XRP alongside RLUSD as a “premier trading and liquidity pair” across supported chains, supported by wrapped XRP (wXRP) issuance for cross-chain use.

Institutional tooling for XRP is also expanding. Digital Wealth Partners recently launched an algorithmic XRP trading strategy for qualified retirement accounts, offering insured custody through Anchorage Digital.

The service gives high-net-worth investors access to systematic XRP trading within regulated, tax-advantaged accounts. This reflects broader efforts to integrate crypto into traditional wealth management structures.

As XRP faces conflicting technical signals, its trajectory may hinge on whether bearish chart patterns dominate or whether historical cycles and expanding utility ultimately reassert control.