Uptober Blues: Ethereum and XRP Sentiment Plunge to Multi-Month Lows
As October begins, the sentiment toward Ethereum (ETH) and XRP (XRP) has turned negative, according to Santiment. The two altcoins are experiencing a surge in bearish comments on major social platforms, outnumbering bullish ones. The souring mood greets a month often referred to as Uptober, where prices have barely moved. ETH is currently at $2,715.50, while XRP is at $1.51, both slightly up on the day.
The sentiment ratio, tracked by Santiment across X, Telegram, Reddit, and other platforms, has fallen to its lowest level since June 7 for ETH (0.89) and August 17 for XRP (0.67). Bitcoin (BTC) sentiment, by contrast, sits at 1.37. The Crypto Fear & Greed Index, which reads 72, is in Greed territory, up from 63 a month ago.
Santiment sees a possible contrarian signal in the drop, stating that 'heavy pessimism can create a useful contrarian setup. When traders become convinced prices are heading lower, much of the panic selling may already have happened.'
However, on-chain and fund data paint a more mixed picture for both tokens. On the Ethereum network, activity has picked up, with mean base fees jumping 193% week over week. Meanwhile, the staking rate climbed from 35.53% to 35.92% in 14 days. However, the Coinbase Premium Index has printed negative in each of the last 14 sessions.