XRP has rebounded in price but failed to lift its average long-term traders back into profit. According to Santiment's analysis shared on September 23, XRP's average unrealized return for coins active over the past 365 days stood at minus 11.75%, making it one of only two cryptocurrencies in a five-token comparison showing net losses.
In Santiment's comparison of XRP, dogecoin, bitcoin, ether, and chainlink, dogecoin fared worse with a minus 19.26% reading. Bitcoin, ether, and chainlink all showed small average gains. Santiment's measurement uses market value to realized value (MVRV), which compares the current value of coins that moved within the past year against their acquisition price.
XRP rose above $1.60 on September 22, accompanied by 1,917 large transactions and 3,647 new wallets, yet the price increase was insufficient to bring the coins measured in Santiment's yearlong calculation back to their average acquisition value.
Santiment noted that the persistent losses could represent a favorable setup if demand improves, reasoning that when most holders sit on paper losses, fewer traders hold profits they could sell. However, the firm cautioned that a negative reading measures current paper losses and does not predict a price increase.
The distinction between price rebounds and average acquisition values is important. By September 1, XRP was down approximately 27% for the year. An individual holder who acquired XRP at a higher price could still face a paper loss after a subsequent rally, which is reflected in Santiment's aggregate measurement showing the group of recently active coins underwater on average.
