Long-term XRP holders have trimmed positions, but a different cohort is quietly stepping in — and analysts are watching to see which force will dominate price action.
What happened
- On-chain data shows investors who have held XRP for more than 155 days withdrew 8.25 million tokens, cutting “hodler” balances by roughly 3.47% — from about 238 million to close to 230 million XRP.
- That trimming comes as large holders (whales) increase buying activity at higher price bands than before, signaling a shift in market confidence.
Whales buying at higher price bands
- Whale accumulation has moved up markedly: where big buyers historically concentrated between $0.30 and $1.30, they are now aggressively adding between $1.20 and $3.
- According to social metrics and on-chain tracking, these whales have been accumulating for more than a year and are no longer waiting for deep discounts before adding to positions — a behavior that market watchers interpret as comfort with current valuations.
Market snapshot
- XRP price: $1.33 (current focal point for both speculators and whales)
- Market cap: about $82 billion
- 24-hour volume: ~$1.45 billion
- Market dominance: 3.50%
- 24-hour price move: down 0.62%
Derivatives activity ramps up
- Open interest in XRP derivatives rose from $737.72 million to $759.21 million — an increase of nearly 3% in active contracts — indicating fresh leverage flowing into the market.
- The funding rate also moved closer to neutral, improving from -0.011% to -0.003%, a sign of waning short bias and more traders positioning for upside.
Risk signals: limited spot support if a correction hits
- Some technical indicators, including an RSI-based hidden divergence, warn that if a correction begins the spot market may not provide immediate, strong support.
- That’s significant because the major buyers currently appear to be holding what they buy rather than distributing it back to smaller retail players, which can produce a supply squeeze and higher volatility if selling intensifies.
Bottom line
Long-term holders are taking modest profits, but whales are accumulating at higher prices and derivatives interest is rising. The net effect could be a tighter supply profile and sharper price moves — up or down — depending on whether whale demand and new derivatives flows can absorb selling pressure from older accounts and broader market conditions. Analysts will be watching on-chain metrics and funding/open-interest trends for clues about the next leg in XRP’s trend.
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