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XRP is trading negatively as broader market pressure and internal wrangling have positioned it in the bearish spotlight. At the time of writing, XRP was changing hands for $0.5549, down by 2.53% in 24 hours. This price breakdown marks an extension of the drawdown over the trailing seven-day period, during which the coin has dropped by more than 5%.

Why is XRP down today?

Beyond the general bearish market outlook, Ripple Labs spooked the community yesterday when it announced the pivot to smart contracts and programmability. While this was a very positive development for XRP Ledger, key developers in the ecosystem had dissenting views.

For example, XRPL Labs' top developer, Wietse Wind, argued that this abrupt pivot toward smart contracts was unexpected. He noted that his team had worked on a similar solution that has gone live and is currently functional. He argued that Ripple needs to acknowledge the efforts of its most loyal builders and adopt what is working rather than building a new alternative.

Overall, this smart contract push has forced Ripple CTO David Schwartz to send a series of messages to clear up the confusion. In his latest post on X, he said the switch to adopt smart contracts came after he was convinced by ecosystem stakeholders that smart contracts could work on XRPL.

He also noted that the historical data of how Hooks worked on Xahau will also help shape the direction of the new protocol. He highlighted this to address the concerns of Wietse Wind.

What's next for XRP?

XRP is one of the most watched digital currencies on the market. For over a year, its price has traded far below the psychologically important $1 resistance level, an indication of its slow pace of adoption.

The Ripple v. SEC lawsuit was the major bottleneck stalling the coin’s growth at one time. However, now that the case has been settled with a $125 million penalty slapped on Ripple, market watchers are hoping this developer brawl will not further derail its growth.