Veteran chartist Peter Brandt has turned his attention back to the XRP community, delivering a sobering technical analysis that suggests a bearish market structure for the cryptocurrency on the weekly timeframe. Brandt's insights are rooted in chart behavior rather than market sentiment, emphasizing that the current setup carries significant downside risks that traders cannot afford to ignore.

In his recent post on the social media platform X, Brandt pointed out a potential double top forming on XRP's weekly chart. While he acknowledged that this pattern could ultimately fail, he stressed that the prevailing structure leans decidedly bearish. This analysis is especially relevant given XRP's recent price action, which saw it lose the critical $2 mark amid a series of bearish movements throughout December.

Brandt's message is clear: traders must come to terms with what the chart is indicating, rather than dismissing the implications. He directed his remarks at optimistic XRP supporters, clarifying that his stance is not born of bias against the asset, but rather from adherence to classical chart principles.

The chart he shared underscores XRP's fall below the support of a flag pattern established months ago. This breakdown has brought the price down to the lower boundary of the $1.80 to $2.00 range, a significant support level that has previously held firm against resistance around $3.5. However, it seems XRP is on the verge of losing this crucial support for the third time, raising alarms about its future trajectory.

The flattening of weekly moving averages on the chart is another worrying sign. This indicates that the strength of any potential upside has diminished compared to earlier phases of the market cycle. A double top pattern, which Brandt highlighted, serves as a bearish reversal signal, suggesting that the uptrend might be coming to an end and a downtrend could be on the horizon.

Despite the firmness of his analysis, Brandt did exercise some caution. He pointed out that the double top pattern is conditional, meaning it is not set in stone. “This is a potential double top. Sure, it may fail, and I will deal with this if it does,” he remarked, leaving room for a more optimistic interpretation should the circumstances change.

To shift away from this bearish outlook, XRP would need to sustain a move back above the $2 support level. Such a recovery would delay any potential breakdown into the $1 range and signal a need for a reevaluation of the market's direction. A further reclaiming of levels around $2.2, $2.5, $2.7, and even $3 would invalidate the double top scenario entirely, indicating a potential reversal in trend.

Until these conditions are met, Brandt's technical structure continues to advocate for caution—a sentiment that may not align with the views of many XRP proponents. As the market evolves, so too will the narratives surrounding XRP's price action, but for now, the charts suggest a need for vigilance among traders and investors alike.