Bitcoin and XRP holders are navigating a market dominated by bearish discussion as both assets face downward price pressure. Crypto analytics firm Santiment recorded social sentiment readings on October 13, finding 0.82 bullish comments per bearish one for bitcoin and 0.92 for XRP across X, Reddit, and Telegram. Both ratios fall below the 1.0 threshold where bullish and bearish sentiment would be equal.
XRP declined more than 9% over the past week, with leveraged long positions liquidating and the asset struggling to reclaim the $1.40 level. Bitcoin retreated toward $81,000 after repeated rejection near $87,000, also accompanied by heavy long liquidations and broader economic headwinds affecting investor confidence.
The sentiment contrast extends to ethereum, which attracted 2.05 optimistic remarks for every pessimistic one. Santiment characterized this enthusiasm as fear of missing out, or FOMO, attributing the bullish tone to ether's rebound above support, staking demand, and anticipated network improvements.
Santiment offered a contrarian perspective on the divergence: "From a contrarian perspective, BTC and XRP's fear is healthier than ETH's crowd excitement if prices begin recovering." The firm suggested that negative sentiment in bitcoin and XRP may represent a more favorable setup for recovery compared to ethereum's elevated optimism.
Santiment's sentiment calculations analyze language in online discussions, classifying messages as bullish, neutral, or bearish through machine learning models. These social sentiment measures reflect expressed attitudes toward assets but represent a separate perspective from executed trades and blockchain transfers.
