XRP – the digital token closely associated to FinTech company Ripple – has had a rough couple of years, plummeting from highs of over $3.00 in early-2018 and finding itself caught within a firm downtrend that has persisted throughout all of 2018 and 2019.Although many major altcoins saw some relief in the first half of 2019, XRP remained stuck within the lower-$0.30 region, and the recent downturn in the aggregated crypto market that occurred in early-November led XRP to plummet to fresh 2019 lows of just under $0.20.In spite of this bearishness, it is important to note that Ripple’s transaction volume has been on the rise as of late, but this may not be enough to help propel XRP’s price higher in the near-term.Ripple (XRP) Transaction Volume Gains Some Steam as XRP Inches Lower At the time of writing, XRP is trading down nearly 2% at its current price of $0.228, which marks a slight retrace from its daily highs of over $0.23.Over the past week, XRP has been finding strong buying pressure within the lower-$0.21 region, signaling that this is a level of support for the cryptocurrency.Just below this price level, at roughly $0.20, is another strong region of support that was confirmed in late-November concurrently with Bitcoin’s drop – and subsequent bounce – from lows of $6,500.It is important to note that Ripple may be showing some signs of fundamental strength currently, as its transaction volume has been rising significantly in recent times, surging from under 1 million daily transactions in late-October to over 4.5 million transactions earlier this month.The TX number has declined in the time since this number was hit, but it does show that the network is garnering greater utility.Analyst: XRP Looks Incredibly Weak as Resistance Holds StrongRegardless of the growing Ripple transaction volume, analysts still anticipate XRP to see further losses in the near-term.Teddy, a popular cryptocurrency analyst on Twitter, spoke about this in a recent tweet, saying:“#RIPPLE | $XRP: It has been 8 weeks that price has been testing a resistance imposed 700+ days ago. Any updates? nah, still weak as hell – regardless of you, your mother and neighbor shilling it. Statistically speaking, it’s more like to go to zero than $589.”#RIPPLE | $XRPIt has been 8 weeks that price has been testing a resistance imposed 700+ days ago.Any updates? nah, still weak as hell – regardless of you, your mother and neighbour shilling it ?Statistically speaking, its more like to go to zero than $589?? pic.twitter.com/4PsVp3n9aU— TEDDY ⛓️? (@teddycleps) December 7, 2019Assuming that the fundamental strength of XRP – which is emblematic of its transaction volume, use cases, and trading volume – grows as 2019 nears an end, the embattled cryptocurrency may be able to gain some strength as the new year kicks off.Featured image from Shutterstock.The post appeared first on NewsBTC