XRP entered October with its most negative social sentiment balance since August 17, according to crypto analytics firm Santiment. The token's bullish-to-bearish commentary ratio stood at 0.67, meaning approximately 67 optimistic remarks for every 100 pessimistic ones across social platforms including X, Reddit, and Telegram.
Santiment reported on October 1 that "Ethereum and XRP sentiment has suddenly turned very negative to kick off October." A ratio below 1.0 indicates that negative commentary represents the majority of tracked discussions. XRP's 0.67 ratio was weaker than ether's 0.89 reading, which reached its lowest level since June 7.
Contrarian Interpretation
Santiment's social sentiment analysis filters neutral messages to measure expressed expectations rather than actual trading activity. The firm noted that the shift in crowd emotion captures sentiment changes independent of confirmed selling volume.
Under a contrarian framework, periods of heightened fear and subdued optimism can signal opportunities that run counter to prevailing sentiment. Santiment stated: "Fear is returning while some underlying market signals remain healthy, which is exactly the kind of divergence contrarian traders typically wait patiently for." The company cautioned, however, that neither asset is guaranteed to bounce immediately.
September's Mixed Picture
The October pessimism follows a September rebound during which XRP holders still faced substantial paper losses. As of September 23, XRP's average unrealized return stood at minus 11.75% for coins active within the past year, comparing current value against recorded acquisition value.
Network activity increased during the rally, with 1,917 large XRP transactions and 3,647 new wallets recorded as the token crossed $1.60 on September 22. Each tracked transfer was worth at least $100,000.
