XRP has been having a hard time lately, failing to enjoy strong, upward momentum after hitting its lowest price since 2017.

The digital token declined to as little as $0.1787 on Wednesday on CoinMarketCap, a more-than two-year low.

Later that day, the digital asset recovered, rising more than 10% to $0.1975, additional CoinMarketCap figures show.

XRP prices later fell back, and have since failed to achieve higher highs.

[Ed note: Investing in cryptocoins or tokens is highly speculative and the market is largely unregulated. Anyone considering it should be prepared to lose their entire investment.]

Bearish Crypto Markets

This difficulty comes at a time when the digital token, and the broader cryptocurrency markets, have been experiencing a downward trend.

The digital currency markets, for example, have lost nearly half their value since late June, CoinMarketCap data indicates.

Trading volumes have been low, and some analysts have stated that investors are simply sitting on the sidelines, adopting a “wait and see” approach.

Ripple’s $200 Million Funding Round

Even a $200 million funding round, which Ripple announced today, failed to generate significant gains. This round, led by investment firm Tetragon, valued the company at $10 billion, Fortune reported.

The digital token experienced some upside, rising roughly 3% from $0.1891 early this morning to its intra-day high of $0.1949.

While this funding round helped bolster XRP prices, it probably won’t “cause a major reversal since such news-driven surges are speculative and temporary” unless there is more “concrete” adoption, said Joe DiPasquale, CEO of cryptocurrency hedge fund manager BitBull Capital.

Market Skepticism

The challenges that XRP has had in recovering its recent losses illustrate the skepticism of the markets, said analysts.

The sentiment surrounding XRP took a hit when investors found out that MoneyGram, a Ripple partner, does not hold the token, and neither does CEO Alex Holmes, noted DiPasquale.

Marouane Garcon, managing director of crypto-to-crypto derivatives platform Amulet, also spoke to the mindset of investors, stating that:

“Basically the general sentiment doesn’t think XRP is priced correctly. It’s being reflected in the market.”

However, many digital currencies are having similar experiences, he noted.

“We’re finding out how valuable the public actually thinks these assets are,” said Garcon.

“Right now the people that are still in are the ones who truly believe in the roadmap of XRP,” he added.

“Those who have left no longer believe that they can accomplish their mission.”

Disclosure: I own some bitcoin, bitcoin cash, litecoin, ether and EOS.

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