XRP (XRP) maintains positive social media sentiment even as investor mood around Bitcoin (BTC) and Ethereum (ETH) has deteriorated during recent market declines.

What Happened: Sentiment Divergence

Analytics firm Santiment reported on X that social media sentiment has diverged sharply among major cryptocurrencies during the latest downturn.

The firm's Positive/Negative Sentiment indicator, which measures the ratio of bullish to bearish comments across major social platforms using machine learning classification, shows XRP's ratio reached nearly 2.2 as of early February.

Bitcoin's sentiment ratio dropped to 0.79, indicating bearish dominance, while Ethereum recovered to a neutral 1.0. All three assets saw their sentiment ratios fall below 1 at the end of January as prices crashed, but only XRP has rebounded to notably positive territory.

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Why It Matters: Contrarian Signals

Digital asset markets have historically moved contrary to retail trader expectations. Extreme fear can precede price rebounds, while excessive optimism often marks market tops.

"There remains a strong argument for a short-term relief rally as long as the small trader crowd continues to show disbelief toward cryptocurrency as a whole," Santiment stated.

The firm's analysis suggests Bitcoin and Ethereum may be better positioned for recovery given their bearish sentiment readings. XRP's unusually positive sentiment during continued price declines could signal limited near-term upside potential, though the divergence makes broader market predictions uncertain.

At press time, XRP traded near $1.27 after declining over 30% in the previous week.

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