XRP has extended a months-long slide against bitcoin and is nearing its lowest level of the year.

On July 9, blockchain media outlet U.Today reported that the XRP/BTC trading pair has slipped again this month and is hovering around 0.00001735 BTC.

Market data show XRP moved sideways and posted a slight rebound at one point in June, but turned lower again in early July. XRP/BTC has fallen to multi-month lows, raising the chance it could post its lowest closing price of the year. Charts show a pattern of lower highs and lower lows, and attempts to reverse higher were blocked by selling.

It was compounded by weakness in dollar terms. XRP has fallen 53 percent in dollar value over the past year, and its underperformance was more pronounced against bitcoin. That means XRP's weakness widened in the cross rate while bitcoin maintained a stronger trend.

This downturn has also been linked to talk of slowing institutional demand. On July 8, a spot XRP exchange-traded fund recorded net outflows of $7.29 million. A sudden cooling in institutional investment demand in traditional markets has added pressure on XRP.

Supply and demand indicators did not point in only one direction. On-chain analytics firm CryptoQuant said Binance's XRP scarcity index rose to about 0.77 over the past 3 days. It was the highest level of supply tightness at the world's largest cryptocurrency exchange since mid-2024. A signal was detected that supply on centralised exchanges is shrinking, but it was seen as failing to offset downside pressure at this point.

There was also no lack of developments that could support prices. Ripple recently finalised a 5-year sponsorship deal with the University of Kansas. The agreement will broaden XRP's exposure to mainstream sports fans. Clearstream, a major European post-trade operator, also added XRP to the assets covered by its regulated custody services.

But the positive news has not changed the market's direction. Despite earlier positive developments, XRP is struggling to hold its current price level. As long as spot ETF outflows and structural weakness against bitcoin continue, XRP is more likely to face a test of whether it can defend its relative value than to stage a short-term rebound. With momentum from recent inflows having eased, the market is watching whether this outflow is a temporary adjustment or the start of a trend reversal.