Ripple’s (XRP) price action has consistently disappointed its investors, with the altcoin noting declines since the beginning of the month

Going forward, the crypto asset could see a period of consolidation as the investors exhibit mixed signals.

Ripple Investors Seem Unsure

XRP price is noting mixed signs as whales try to initiate recovery while retail investors continue to pull back. The addresses holding between 1 million and 10 million XRP have bought over 100 million XRP in the last 48 hours.

This $47 million accumulation is crucial in initiating recovery, given that the XRP price has been trending lower and lower every day.

However, retail investors do not seem to share this optimism as they remain bearish. Their participation on the network remains minimal visible in the declining active addresses.

Investors are likely to refrain from conducting transactions on the network because of the lack of profits. This price and daily active addresses (DAA) divergence is flashing a “sell” signal.

If Ripple holders continue to pull back, the altcoin might face considerable resistance in initiating recovery. This could invalidate the attempts made by the whales to pull the price back up.

Read More: How To Buy XRP and Everything You Need To Know

XRP Price Prediction: Consolidation Ahead

XRP price, trading at $0.474 at the time of writing, is around the crucial support at $0.473. Despite massive accumulation by the whales, the aforementioned cues support sideways momentum for the altcoin.

This would keep the crypto asset restricted between $0.473 and $0.516. The latter coincides with the 23.6% Fibonacci Retracement, which is known as a bear market support floor. The chances of reclaiming it are minimal, but if this happens, the XRP price could reinitiate recovery.

Read More: Ripple (XRP) Price Prediction 2024/2025/2030

On the other hand, if the $0.473 support is lost, the altcoin could end up testing the critical support at $0.460. Losing this support would invalidate the bullish-neutral thesis, resulting in further drawdown.

Coinbase is expanding its derivatives exchange by introducing futures contracts for popular altcoins, including Shiba Inu, Polkadot, Stellar, Avalanche, and Chainlink.

The company revealed this through a series of applications submitted to the United States Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) on June 28.

Coinbase Continues Financial Products Diversification

Coinbase claims these derivatives offerings will help clients manage risks, speculate on price movements, and engage with reduced upfront capital. The firm furthered that the move will improve its users’ overall trading experience with a diverse product suite.

The applications indicate that Coinbase chose self-certification under CFTC Regulation 40.2(a). This choice speeds up the listing process by bypassing direct CFTC approval. If approved, the new products could launch on or after July 15 and increase the firm’s financial products offering to 15, including 13 crypto-related and three non-crypto products like gold and crude oil.

Read more: Best Crypto Derivative Exchanges in 2024

Meanwhile, Coinbase highlighted the unique features of each new offering. Avalanche, the asset with the largest market capitalization among the five, supports custom blockchain networks or subnets. This makes it attractive for DeFi projects, digital collectibles, and other blockchain-based applications.

The Brian Amrstong-led exchange said it selected Shiba Inu because of its rising significance among memecoins. According to the firm, the project’s team is working on expanding its utility beyond being “highly speculative and volatile” by focusing on real-world applications. These moves, it argued, will contribute to its long-term sustainability and relevance in the crypto space.

Read more: Coinbase Review 2024: The Best Crypto Exchange for Beginners?

Coinbase chose Chainlink because it is popular among developers for enhancing smart contract functionality with real-world data. It stated that it picked Stellar because its native currency can act as a bridge for cross-border transactions. Polkadot was selected because it is uniquely capable of achieving true interoperability between different blockchains.

“Coinbase Derivatives is excited to lead market accessibility, as the first U.S. futures exchange to offer margined futures contracts for these assets and we look forward to seeing the maturation of these derivatives contracts in a regulated market,” the firm added.

Anticipation for the spot Ethereum exchange-traded funds (ETFs) to begin trading in the United States by July 2 has faced a setback. New information indicates the launch might be delayed until the week of July 8.

Bloomberg analyst Eric Balchunas made this revelation on social media platform X while explaining why the Ethereum ETFs might not start trading soon.

This week, the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) returned the S-1 forms to potential Ethereum ETF issuers. Balchunas mentioned that the forms were returned with minimal comments. Issuers, however, might have to wait until after the holidays next week to proceed.

“Unfortunately, I think we have to push back our over/under till after holiday. Sounds like SEC took extra time to get back to people this week (although again very light tweaks) and from what I hear next week is dead because of the holiday. [By] July 8 the process [will] resume and soon after that they’ll launch,” Balchunas stated.

Industry experts initially predicted that the regulator might approve the funds linked to the spot price of ETH before July 4. They based this on VanEck’s submission of a Form 8-A filing for its Ethereum ETF, suggesting imminent trading.

Read more: Ethereum ETF Explained: What It Is and How It Works

However, the Bloomberg analyst implied that some of the applicants’ lapses might have caused the new delay.

“[The] best theory is that not every issuer was as tight with their documents, so one or two of them could have slowed down the process. Or just summer hours/laziness from Staff,” Balchunas added.

Despite the delay, market experts believe the funds could attract significant investment once trading begins. Charles Yu, Vice President of Research at Galaxy Digital, speculated that ETH ETFs might see up to $1 billion in monthly inflows during the first five months.

“If futures markets and international crypto funds are any indication, we would expect ETH etf flows to be 20-50% of bitcoin etf flows. With $15 billion of net inflows into Bitcoin etfs to date, our estimated range implies eth etfs could see nearly $1 billion in monthly flows for the first 5 months,” Yu remarked.

Read more: Ethereum (ETH) Price Prediction 2024/2025/2030

This projection indicates the funds could attract over $11 billion in their first year of trading. Bitwise CIO Matthew Houang shares a similar view, predicting $15 billion in inflows within the first 18 months.

However, Yu also pointed out potential factors that could affect ETF demand. These include the lack of staking, the unwinding of Grayscale’s ETHE, and the funding rate for Ethereum ETFs.