According to macro analyst Versan Aljarrah, investors are asking the wrong question about XRP. Rather than speculating on when XRP will moon, he urges the community to ask when price suppression will end. In a recent post on X, Aljarrah, who co-founded Black Swan Capitalist with his brother, claimed XRP’s price has been artificially held down,even though it has real-world usage and global adoption.
He alleges that XRP faces suppression around the $3 level due to coordinated regulatory actions and market manipulation, preventing it from following the growth trajectories of Bitcoin and Ethereum.
Allegations of Market Manipulation and Algorithmic Resistance
Aljarrah insists that market actors use spoof orders, wash trading, and algorithmic bots to apply artificial resistance whenever XRP gains momentum. These tactics, according to him, interrupt natural market behavior and prevent genuine upward price movements.
He argues that this manipulation is baked into how some exchanges operate and is reinforced by opaque trading algorithms and regulatory barriers designed to keep XRP in a suppressed price state.
SEC Lawsuit as a Strategic Attack on XRP’s Momentum
Aljarrah also revisited the SEC’s 2020 lawsuit against Ripple, which accused the company of selling unregistered securities. He believes the lawsuit came at a critical moment, just when XRP had gained institutional traction through partnerships with MoneyGram and others.
Following the lawsuit, major U.S. exchanges like Coinbase and Kraken delisted XRP, cutting off retail investor access and freezing momentum within the American market. Aljarrah claims this legal action was more than regulatory, it functioned as a tool to halt XRP’s rise during a time of growing institutional interest.
Community figure All Things XRP supported this viewpoint last year, stating that the lawsuit damaged more than price. He said it stalled innovation, disrupted development, and sapped investor enthusiasm across the ecosystem.
Global Use of XRP in ODL Channels Remains Hidden
Despite legal hurdles in the U.S., Ripple has continued expanding its On-Demand Liquidity (ODL) services globally. These services use XRP to settle cross-border transactions in real time. However, Aljarrah points out that most of this volume moves through private corridors and over-the-counter (OTC) desks, avoiding slippage and price impact on public exchanges.
He claims that XRP is actively used, but the system is designed to divert price pressure away from public markets. As a result, while volume flows increase behind the scenes, price charts reflect stagnation.
Related article: Ripple Criticizes Draft Crypto Market Bill for Creating Ambiguity and Overextending SEC Power
Institutions In, Retail Locked Out?
Aljarrah further alleges that institutions gained early access to XRP through private investment vehicles and regulatory sandboxes, while U.S. retail investors were excluded due to delistings and legal ambiguity. He believes these institutions quietly accumulated XRP while public sentiment cooled.
He also notes that much of XRP’s utility operates off-chain or outside of major exchanges, which explains why the token can be actively used without making significant price moves.
This argument finds support in previous concerns raised by Mickle, a wealth advisor and XRP supporter. Mickle criticized CoinMarketCap’s method of calculating XRP’s market cap, accusing it of using a flawed circulating supply figure. He argued that excluding over 40 billion XRP held in Ripple’s escrow undervalues the asset and paints a misleading picture of its true market standing.
Is the Suppression Fading?
Not all voices believe the suppression will last. Crypto analyst Max Avery recently suggested that XRP’s price restraint is beginning to ease, especially after Ripple’s partial court victory against the SEC. Avery believes the previous crackdown under SEC Chair Gary Gensler wasn’t meant to destroy crypto but to delay its adoption, giving traditional finance time to adjust.
Even so, Ripple’s legal battle with the SEC remains unresolved. Aljarrah and others continue to argue that XRP’s price is not a reflection of its real utility, but a product of suppressed market conditions that benefit institutions while limiting retail exposure.
