The XRP (XRP) market is flashing warning signs as a bearish technical pattern emerges on its weekly chart, coinciding with macroeconomic pressures from anticipated US tariffs in April.

XRP descending triangle pattern hints at 40% drop

Since its late 2024 rally, the XRP price chart has been forming a potential triangle pattern on its weekly chart, characterized by a flat support level mixed with a downward-sloping resistance line.

A descending triangle pattern forming after a strong uptrend is seen as a bearish reversal indicator. As a rule, the setup resolves when the price breaks below the flat support level and falls by as much as the triangle’s maximum height.

XRP/USD weekly price chart. Source: TradingView

As of March 28, XRP was testing the triangle’s support for a potential breakdown move. In this case, the price may fall toward the downside target at around $1.32 by April, down 40% from current price levels.

XRP’s descending triangle target echoes veteran trader Peter Brandt’s prediction. He warned of a possible decline to as low as $1.07 due to a “textbook” head-and-shoulders pattern forming on the daily chart.

XRP/USD daily price chart. Source: Peter Brandt

Conversely, a rebound from the triangle’s support level could lead the price toward its upper trendline at around $2.55. A clear breakout above this resistance level risks invalidating the bearish structures altogether, instead sending the price toward the previous high of $3.35.

Trump tariffs could amplify XRP sell-off

The broader market, meanwhile, has turned increasingly cautious in response to President Donald Trump’s 25% tariffs on auto imports, set to go live on April 3.

These tariffs are likely to result in higher prices for US manufacturers and consumers. The February 2025 US CPI report already showed a 0.2% month-over-month increase.

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St. Louis Federal Reserve President Alberto Musalem estimated that these tariffs might contribute approximately 1.2 percentage points to inflation, with about 0.5 percentage points stemming from direct effects and 0.7 percentage points from indirect effects.

According to the CME FedWatch Tool, the probability of the Federal Reserve cutting rates to a target range of 400–425 basis points in June has fallen to 55.7% as of March 28, down from 67.3% a week earlier and 58.4% just one day ago.

Target rate probabilities for the June Fed meeting. Source: CME

A delayed rate cut would reduce the flow of capital into speculative markets, stalling momentum for XRP and other digital assets that thrive in a low-rate, risk-on environment.

This article does not contain investment advice or recommendations. Every investment and trading move involves risk, and readers should conduct their own research when making a decision.

The United Arab Emirates expects its digital dirham central bank digital currency to roll out in the fourth quarter of 2025. 

According to a report in the Khaleej Times, Central Bank of the UAE Governor Khaled Mohamed Balama reportedly said that the blockchain-based currency could improve financial stability and help combat financial crime. According to the report, the retail sector could expect the issuance of a digital dirham in the last quarter of 2025. 

“It [digital dirham] will further enable the development of innovative digital products, services, and new business models while reducing cost and increasing access to international markets,” Balama reportedly said.

The report also stated that the digital dirham and its physical counterpart will be accepted as a payment method in all payment channels. 

The news comes as the digital dirham received a rebrand. The first letter of the dirham will be its international symbol, along with two horizontal lines representing the currency’s stability, inspired by the UAE flag. 

The new symbol for UAE dirhams. Source: Khaleej Times

The road to digital dirhams in the UAE

In June 2024, the CBUAE approved a licensing framework for regulating stablecoins. In a meeting with the CBUAE board of directors in Abu Dhabi, UAE officials discussed the government’s financial infrastructure program and approved the framework. The new rules clarified the issuance, licensing and supervision of payment tokens backed by the UAE dirham. 

Following the framework’s approval, stablecoin issuer Tether announced its plans to launch a dirham-backed stablecoin with local partners Phoenix Group and Green Acorn Investments. The collaboration aims to establish a fully-backed digital representation of the UAE dirham currency. 

After the framework approval, other players joined the race to create a dirham-backed stablecoin. On Oct. 18, 2024, a company called AED Stablecoin received in-principle approval for issuing a regulated dirham-pegged stablecoin in the UAE.  

On Nov. 1, The Open Network (TON) announced that Tether’s dirham-pegged stablecoin will be launched on its blockchain network. 

Related: Abu Dhabi’s financial free zone signs MoU with Chainlink for tokenization frameworks

Stablecoins in the UAE

Apart from dirham-backed stablecoins, US dollar and euro stablecoins have also gained traction in the country. 

On Feb. 24, the Dubai Financial Services Authority, the independent regulator for the Dubai International Financial Centre (DIFC), recognized Circle’s USDC and EURC as the first stablecoins under its crypto token regime. 

Meanwhile, a Ripple spokesperson previously told Cointelegraph that the company is working to understand the country’s stablecoin requirements. The spokesperson said they are monitoring the developments closely and that their RLUSD stablecoin is available in the UAE. 

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Michael Novogratz’s crypto investment firm Galaxy Digital agreed to pay $200 million in a settlement related to its alleged promotion of the now-collapsed cryptocurrency Terra (LUNA)

According to New York Attorney General’s Office documents filed on March 24, Galaxy Digital acquired 18.5 million LUNA tokens at a 30% discount, then promoted them before selling them without abiding by disclosure rules. The filing states:

“Ultimately, Galaxy helped a little-known token increase its market price from $0.31 in October 2020 to $119.18 in April 2022, while profiting in the hundreds of millions of dollars.“

As part of the settlement agreement, Galaxy will pay $200 million in monetary relief over three years: $40 million within 15 days, another $40 million within one year, and two additional payments of $60 million due within the second and third years, respectively.

Related: A beginner’s guide on algorithmic stablecoins

Galaxy Digital reportedly spread fake news

The filing also accused Galaxy Digital and Novogratz of spreading false claims about Terra’s usage. In particular, the firm allegedly stated that the South Korean payments app Chai was built on the Terra blockchain, which was not accurate.

This claim was also included in a press release sent to Bloomberg highlighting that the app “hosts over 2 million users and generates $1.2 billion in annualized transaction volume.” The release reads:

“These statements were false. They were based on representations by Kwon and Terraform to Galaxy, but Galaxy failed to independently verify them.“

Galaxy Digital’s Novogratz mentions Terra usage in Chai following Terra’s collapse. Source: Galaxy Digital

Related: Terra’s Do Kwon’s US court hearing delayed as prosecutors review a swath of new evidence

Terra’s collapse and market fallout

Terra and its algorithmic stablecoin, TerraUSD (UST), both experienced a dramatic collapse due to a breakdown in the mechanism designed to maintain UST’s peg to the US dollar back in May 2022. The event occurred when a large holder sold a substantial amount of UST.

The large sell-off triggered market panic, causing UST to deviate from its expected value. The mechanism intended to stabilize UST involved minting new LUNA tokens to buy back UST, resulting in massive LUNA supply inflation and creating intense downward pressure on LUNA’s price.

As Cointelegraph reported at the time, if the market cap of LUNA became lower than that of UST, there would not be enough funds to maintain the peg of the stablecoin. With the asset backing the stablecoin losing value as its supply continued to increase, the assets entered a self-reinforcing spiral, which caused both assets to lose nearly all their value within hours.

This wiped out billions in market capitalization and triggered a broader cryptocurrency market downturn. The memory of the event is still fresh, with the Sonic blockchain’s recent unveiling of a high-yield algorithmic stablecoin being met with fears due to perceived similarities.

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