Below $0.50: XRP Prices Fall to New 2018 Lows

The price of XRP slid below $0.43 on Friday, hitting a new low for 2018.

The world's third-largest cryptocurrency by market capitalization fell to $0.424 at 13:00 UTC, surpassing the prior low of $0.438 seen just five days ago on the Bitfinex exchange. XRP has not recorded a daily close below $0.42 since December 12th, 2017.

As of press time, the figure has risen above the low, back to averaging a price of $0.43. Current prices reflect a 24-hour drop of 3.5 percent and a 14 percent decline week-to-week.

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Market bears will look to strengthen their grip if the current level of $0.43 cannot hold as XRP is not accompanied by any neighboring technical support. The strongest layer of support may not be seen until $0.19.

XRP is not the lone cryptocurrency to set an annual low today, however, as it is joined by the likes of OmiseGo (OMG), NEO$5,1845, LTC$99,16, and zcash. The largest cryptocurrency, BTC$102.062,53, came just $14 shy of breaking its annual low of $5,786 earlier this morning, CoinDesk data further indicates.

Consequently, the broader market is taking a beating. The total cryptocurrency market capitalization has hit $232 billion - its lowest mark since November of 2017 and a 72 percent depreciation from all-time high just under $830 billion, according to CoinMarketCap.

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