The cryptocurrency market faced heightened volatility after reports surfaced regarding Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang, putting additional pressure on an already declining market. Ripple-associated XRP experienced a sharp downturn, posting some of the steepest losses among leading digital assets.
Steep losses for XRP during market decline
XRP, the digital asset closely linked to Ripple, suffered a significant blow, dropping 4.9% in the past 24 hours to around $1.10, based on CoinGecko data. Over the past seven days, XRP’s losses have intensified, now totaling 12.4% for the week.
Compared to its peers, XRP’s decline was the most pronounced. Bitcoin slid only 1.4% over the past 24 hours and fell 4.9% for the week. This puts XRP nearly 8% lower against Bitcoin within the same timeframe.
| Asset | 24H Change | 7-Day Change |
|---|---|---|
| Bitcoin (BTC) | -1.4% | -4.9% |
| Ethereum (ETH) | Not stated | -7.4% |
| Solana (SOL) | Not stated | -8.6% |
| XRP | -4.9% | -12.4% |
Ethereum and Solana also endured declines, with Ethereum dropping 7.4% for the week and Solana falling by 8.6%. Despite the widespread losses across major crypto assets, XRP’s poor performance stood out for its scale.
Nvidia controversy shakes broader market
The market’s turbulence intensified after revelations that Nvidia’s CEO Jensen Huang admitted to an extramarital affair, a matter complicated by U.S. intelligence reports linking the businesswoman involved to alleged Chinese espionage activities. The Nvidia board launched an independent investigation to determine whether Huang was potentially targeted by foreign intelligence.
Nvidia, a leading global provider of graphics processing units and artificial intelligence hardware, clarified that it currently has no evidence suggesting national security or proprietary company information was compromised.
Amid the unfolding controversy, Nvidia shares declined approximately 3.4% in after-hours trading. Many investors worried about the potential ramifications for the ongoing artificial intelligence rally, as Nvidia’s leadership is seen as critical to the sector’s development.
Bitcoin briefly plunged to around $73,761 on Sunday before rebounding somewhat as market conditions began to stabilize.
XRP community pushes back
Despite XRP’s challenging week, several prominent members of the asset’s community have challenged claims that the token’s decline reflects fundamental weaknesses.
Vet, a well-known validator on the XRP Ledger—a decentralized blockchain for the settlement of XRP transactions—took a satirical approach to the impact of the Nvidia news. On X (formerly Twitter), Vet remarked:
“I forgot to mention that your XRP thesis doesn’t protect against the NVIDIA guy cheating on his wife.”
Vet went on to point out that Ethereum and Solana had also posted heavy losses, suggesting that market-wide factors, rather than XRP’s individual prospects, fueled the downturn.
Mini dictionary: XRP Ledger, the decentralized layer-1 blockchain developed by Ripple, enables fast and low-cost settlement of XRP transactions and serves as the basis for building decentralized applications (dApps).
The community reaction appeared aimed at distinguishing the current sell-off from long-term concerns regarding XRP’s viability or use cases.
