XRP (CRYPTO: XRP) fell 4% Wednesday even as Ripple signed a new partnership with South Korea’s Meritz Securities to bring digital asset custody to the country’s capital markets.
What the Meritz Partnership Covers
The signing ceremony took place Oct. 1 at Meritz’s headquarters in Seoul, with Meritz CEO Jang Won-jae and Ripple President Monica Long both in attendance.
Under the deal, the two companies will jointly review how to bring Ripple’s tokenization infrastructure and Ripple Custody, its institutional digital asset custody solution, into Korea’s capital market.
Both services already run for global financial institutions elsewhere. The firms plan to start within the limits of existing securities rules, then expand as Korea’s digital asset regulations develop.
Meritz has been studying several related businesses as it anticipates digital assets entering the regulated financial system, including spot ETFs, fractional investment products, security token offerings, and won-denominated stablecoins.
Ripple Asia-Pacific Managing Director Fiona Murray said the company would explore how its infrastructure can support the growth of Korea’s capital markets.
Why XRP Fell Anyway
Despite the partnership news, XRP sold off sharply alongside a broader crypto pullback. The token dropped to $1.43 after rejecting near $1.60 and breaking below its 20-day EMA at $1.47.
The Parabolic SAR flipped bearish, confirming near-term momentum has turned against the recent rally.
Even so, price still holds above the 50-day, 100-day and 200-day EMAs, keeping the broader uptrend technically intact.
The pullback reads as a test of support rather than a confirmed breakdown.
One Analyst’s Long-Range Bull Case
Widely-followed crypto analyst Gert van Lagen posted on X a monthly chart showing a triangle pattern he says targets roughly $50 for XRP, a level that would put its market cap near $3 trillion.
He pointed to 2017, when XRP gained 50-fold against Bitcoin in two months, arguing a repeat could put XRP at $50 with Bitcoin near $450,000.
At $1.47, a move to $50 would mark a gain of about 3,300%. Van Lagen’s framework is a long-range outlook rather than a short-term call, and it rests entirely on his own chart reading.
Image: Shutterstock
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