A long-term chart showing XRP down more than 53 percent over a year has spread online, fuelling debate again over its appeal to new investors.

On June 27 local time, The Crypto Basic, a blockchain media outlet, reported that some social media users have repeatedly questioned XRP’s investment appeal based on its long-term price trend.

The controversy started with a short post by an investor. The investor wrote, "If you zoom out on the chart, no one looking to invest in cryptocurrency for the first time will buy XRP." A one-year chart shared with the post showed XRP falling to about $1.02. Some see the recent decline as a buying opportunity, but others said that widening the view to the long term could make people hesitate to enter because of the size of the drop itself.

XRP, however, has rebounded slightly in the short term. Its current price is about $1.05, up about 2.5 percent over 24 hours. On a weekly basis it is down 8 percent, down 18 percent over the past month, and down about 43 percent since the start of the year. Those figures make it hard to say a short-term bounce has reversed the long-term downtrend.

Criticism of XRP has grown, but it was also noted that the decline is not only an issue for this asset. Bitcoin is trading at about $59,000 and is down about 43 percent over a year. It has fallen 5.4 percent over the past week, 18 percent over the past month and 34 percent since the start of the year. That means XRP’s fall also appeared within the same trend as the broader market adjustment.

Even so, XRP has underperformed bitcoin across multiple time frames. Even if the overall market is weak, it is possible to calculate that XRP investors faced a heavier burden in relative returns. Investors who bought before the decline could face sizable unrealised losses. The profit and loss figures cited in the article are estimates based on the one-year decline, and actual returns vary depending on each investor’s purchase price.

Other scenarios were also discussed for investors entering at current levels. If bought near about $1.05 and XRP later returns to levels mentioned as past resistance, the risk-reward profile could change. That premise, however, is based on an assumption that XRP rebounds sharply.

Market sentiment remains cautious. A bear market is continuing and many analysts see the possibility of further declines, while XRP supporters argue that the cryptocurrency market has repeatedly rebounded strongly after major corrections. They believe that if a catalyst emerges, XRP could again challenge "key psychological price levels such as $2 and $3."

In the end, the debate centres on how XRP’s long-term drop, rather than its short-term rebound, will affect new money flows. Based on current figures, XRP’s relative weakness stands out even as the overall market undergoes a correction, and whether it rebounds is increasingly likely to be decided between expectations of further declines and supporters’ hopes for a recovery.