[caption id="attachment_101965" align="alignleft" width="300"] iStock.com/Boonrit Panyaphinitnugoon[/caption]
XRP Coin Prices: A Parabolic Move Toward Higher Prices Is Now in Development
Cryptocurrencies are an incredible asset class. As much as I hate this sector, I cannot help but love it at the same time. This asset class has no real tangible value, yet all the cryptocurrencies continue to appreciate, which in itself sounds ludicrous. From a technical perspective, the price action has been phenomenal, and this sector has been a technical analyst's dream. I am focusing on Ripple coin (XRP) because this cryptocurrency has a very intriguing price chart, and recent developments are suggesting that higher XRP coin prices are currently in development. Using the price chart to generate a view on an investment is known as technical analysis. This method of investment analysis is predicated on the notion that historical price and volume data can be used to forecast what the future may bring. I have been studying and applying this method for nearly two decades and I have yet to come across a sector where technical analysis is more pertinent than it currently is with cryptocurrencies. The following chart illustrates the technical developments on the XRP price chart which are currently suggesting that higher Ripple coin prices are in development.
Chart courtesy of TradingView.com
This price chart illustrates a technical pattern known as a symmetrical triangle. These are very special and powerful patterns that develop due to a specific type of price action characterized by a sequence of higher lows and lower highs.
[pc-signup-from id="bc-report"]
This pattern is best identified using two converging trend lines, which are created by connecting the sequence of higher lows and lower highs. These trend lines not only define the pattern, they act as levels of price support and price resistance.
Triangle patterns are both special and powerful because the contraction of space between support and resistance causes energy to be stored in the pattern as it develops. This energy is finally released when the price breaks above resistance or falls below support, at which point a powerful move is expected to follow.
On December 12, Ripple prices broke out above resistance and a powerful move toward higher XRP prices followed. This event suggests that further gains are on the horizon.
The completion of the symmetrical triangle is a bullish feat, but, when it is put into the context of its larger bullish trend, the implications for Ripple prices going forward are magnified.
The following XRP price chart illustrated the constructive price action that has been responsible for the larger bullish trend in Ripple coin.
Chart courtesy of TradingView.com
This price chart illustrates that the larger bullish trend in Ripple prices has been constructive in nature. Constructive price action consists of a wave structure made up of impulse waves and consolidation waves that work in alternation.
The impulse waves are highlighted in green and they capture the stage in a bullish trend when the asset's price makes a sustained move toward higher prices.
The consolidation waves are highlighted in purple and they capture the stage in a bullish trend when the asset’s price corrects. The corrective price action is necessary in order to create the correct conditions so a new advancing impulse wave can develop.
These waves work together to create the necessary foundation to sustain a bullish trend.
The symmetrical triangle doubles as a consolidation wave, and its completion suggests that a new impulse wave is now in development. Consolidation waves mark midpoints in a trend. Therefore, this implies that Ripple prices have much further to run. This bullish view is being reinforced by the moving average convergence/divergence (MACD) indicator located in the lower panel.
MACD is a momentum indicator that uses the crossing of a signal line to determine whether bullish or bearish momentum is influencing the price action in an asset. This information is very important because an asset cannot make a sustained move toward higher prices without bullish momentum paving the road toward higher prices.
The completion of the consolidation wave coincided with a bullish MACD cross, reinforcing the notion that an advancing impulse wave is now in development and that, therefore, higher Ripple prices are likely to follow.
