XRP’s price action in recent days has led to speculations among crypto traders over whether it could fall below the $2 support zone and how deep any pullback might go before a bottom is established. 

Popular XRP analyst Zach Rector addressed this concern shared by many market participants during an interview on the Paul Barron Podcast as to how low XRP could realistically fall before buyers step in and whether a return to the $1 level is still possible under current conditions.

Zach Rector Says $1 XRP Is Virtually Impossible

Inflows into Spot XRP ETFs have been largely offset by selling pressure on centralized exchanges, keeping the cryptocurrency range-bound just above $2 even as long-term demand builds in the background. This range-bound trading has left the cryptocurrency at risk of losing $2 and breaking further downwards. The question now is whether this downward risk can cause the XRP price to return to $1. 

Addressing the question from Paul Barron directly, Zach Rector stated that an XRP price move back to $1 is effectively off the table under normal market conditions. He presented such a scenario as something that would only occur in the event of an extraordinary black swan. Current market structure, liquidity depth, and buyer behavior do not support the XRP price falling as low as that level.

According to Rector, XRP’s order book on crypto exchanges is now populated by a large base of passive buyers with limit orders already positioned well above $1. He also used his own trade orders to illustrate why he believes XRP is forming a higher long-term floor. 

He acknowledged entering an XRP long above $3.40 earlier in the year and confirmed that the position is still underwater. However, he explained that he has consistently dollar-cost averaged lower, bringing his average entry down to around $2.23. Keeping this in mind, Rector predicted a price low to watch out for before the XRP price bounces.

Higher Lows Says Support Is Between $1.90 And $1.80

XRP’s price structure over the past year points to a market that is gradually building strength rather than breaking down. Rector pointed to XRP’s price chart on Coinbase, which shows the creation of a sequence of higher lows, with price bottoming near $1.60 in April, recovering to form a higher low around $1.77 on October 10, and then holding even higher at approximately $1.81 in November.

That pattern is why the $1.90 to $1.80 range is viewed as the most realistic downside zone if XRP breaks below $2 and selling pressure resumes. According to Rector, a dip below $1.90 could open the door for a brief test of $1.80, and this is as low as the XRP price might go before a bounce. Such a move would still fit within the broader higher-low structure that has defined XRP’s price action throughout the year.

Legendary analyst Peter Brandt has criticized XRP investors, describing them as uneducated. His criticism comes amid the drop below the psychological $2 level, despite recent fundamentals that paint a bullish picture for the altcoin. 

Peter Brandt Describes XRP Investors As “Uneducated”

In an X post, Brandt stated that XRP investors, who are permabulls, are the most uneducated and biased set of people he has seen over his 50 years of trading. The veteran trader classified this set of investors alongside those who trumpet Silver. He also highlighted how this was a big deal considering that he has traded thousands of contracts of every commodity, stock indexes, and many cryptos. 

XRP has, over the years, been known to have one of the strongest crypto communities, which commonly refer to themselves as the ‘XRP Army.’ Brandt has, on several occasions, been criticized by some investors over some of his bearish predictions for the altcoin. This has led to him calling them out in the past whenever he makes such predictions. 

It is worth mentioning that Brandt had also earlier in the month asserted that the “most madly obsessed perma-bulls” on earth are bulls. Although the veteran trader didn’t state an exact reason for making these statements, some pundits have developed a knack for making outlandish price predictions. 

An example of such a pundit is Barry C, who recently stated that the price will skyrocket from $2 to $1,000 a lot sooner than people anticipate. The pundit has in the past alluded to banks’ potential adoption of the token as a factor that could spark the rally to $1,000. He recently highlighted the OCC’s grant of a conditional approval to Ripple to operate as a bank, which provides a boost for the altcoin. 

Largest IQ Holder Is Now A Bull

XRP pundit Zach Rector clapped back against Brandt’s statement, noting that the largest IQ holder is now an XRP bull. The largest IQ holder, Young Hoon Kim, recently revealed that he had started buying the token, having become bullish on the altcoin. He also predicted that the altcoin could reach a new all-time high (ATH) before the year ends. 

Meanwhile, in his latest X post, Kim opined that the price could potentially reach $100 over the next five years. However, he didn’t mention what could spark such a parabolic price surge for the altcoin. It is worth mentioning that such predictions have raised eyebrows because of what the altcoin’s market cap will be if it reaches such price targets. A $100 price target would give XRP a market cap of almost $10 trillion. 

At the time of writing, the token’s price is trading at around $1.98, down over 2% in the last 24 hours, according to data from CoinMarketCap.