XRP retail selling grows as whales accumulate

XRP traded in a narrow range after a turbulent week as smaller holders continued reducing their exposure while large wallets accumulated hundreds of millions of tokens, widening a divide between retail caution and longer-term institutional positioning.

The cryptocurrency hovered near $1.10 during Thursday’s session, struggling to sustain advances after repeated attempts to recover from a sharp market-wide correction. XRP remained below several closely watched moving averages, while trading volumes suggested buyers were unwilling to chase prices without a stronger catalyst.

Wallet data showed that addresses holding between one million and 100 million XRP had collectively added about 600 million tokens during the latest accumulation phase. At prevailing prices, the purchases were worth roughly $660 million. Smaller wallets, meanwhile, reduced balances as prices moved sideways, extending a pattern of retail distribution that emerged after the token failed to hold gains earlier in the week.

The contrasting behaviour has become a central feature of XRP’s market structure. Large investors often use periods of subdued trading to build positions without sharply moving the price, while retail participants tend to respond more quickly to falling momentum, regulatory uncertainty and losses elsewhere in the cryptocurrency market.

XRP changed hands near $1.09 on Saturday, with a market value of about $68 billion and more than 62 billion tokens in circulation. Daily turnover stood near $1 billion, reflecting active trading but remaining below levels normally associated with a decisive breakout.

The token has encountered resistance around $1.14 to $1.21, an area where previous recoveries lost momentum. Support has formed near $1.05 and $1.09. A sustained move below those levels could expose XRP to another decline towards $1, while a break above $1.21 would improve the technical picture and could encourage sidelined buyers to return.

Broader market conditions have limited XRP’s upside. Bitcoin traded near $65,000 as geopolitical tensions, inflation concerns and weaker demand for risk assets affected sentiment. Ethereum also remained under pressure, leaving many alternative cryptocurrencies without the momentum normally generated by gains in the two largest digital assets.

XRP’s decline from its July 2025 peak has also shaped investor behaviour. The token remains about 70 per cent below its 52-week high near $3.66, despite gaining regulatory clarity in several markets and attracting growing interest from investment funds. That gap has encouraged some large holders to view current prices as discounted, while retail traders remain wary of further losses.

Exchange-traded products linked to XRP have continued receiving capital, although weekly inflows have slowed. The weaker pace suggests institutional investors are still allocating funds but have become more selective after volatility increased. Futures-market positioning has followed a similar pattern, with open interest rebuilding gradually rather than surging.

Ripple’s expansion of its institutional services has provided a measure of support. The company launched Ripple Mint, a platform designed to allow businesses to mint, redeem and manage its RLUSD stablecoin through user interfaces and automated systems. The product also enables institutions to move RLUSD across blockchains and integrate stablecoin transactions into internal payment and reconciliation processes.

The development forms part of Ripple’s effort to expand beyond cross-border transfers and build infrastructure for regulated digital assets. RLUSD is issued through a New York-regulated trust company, giving Ripple a compliance framework aimed at banks, payment providers and large financial institutions.

Such initiatives do not automatically translate into demand for XRP, since Ripple’s business products can operate without requiring every customer to hold the token. They nevertheless strengthen the wider XRP Ledger ecosystem and could increase transaction activity if institutions adopt related settlement and liquidity services.

Concentration among major XRP accounts remains an important consideration. The 40 largest listed wallets display holdings exceeding 55 billion tokens, though much of that total is linked to Ripple’s escrow arrangements and cryptocurrency exchanges holding assets for customers. The figures therefore do not represent 40 independent investors controlling more than half the supply.

Retail selling may reduce short-term buying pressure, but it can also transfer tokens to investors with longer time horizons. Whale accumulation is not a guaranteed bullish indicator because large wallets can belong to exchanges, custodians, trading firms or entities preparing to redistribute assets.