XRP whales accumulate as small holders capitulate
CoinDesk 2026-07-23 04:11:13
Context: The price of XRP, a payments-focused cryptocurrency, has risen over 8% in the past five weeks, with large holders, also known as whales, accumulating more coins while smaller holders capitulate and sell their holdings. This trend has historically aligned with further gains for XRP. The divergence in accumulation trends between large and small holders has been observed through on-chain data from Santiment.
Key Facts
- XRP's price has climbed more than 8% since late June, rebounding to $1.16 from $1, as large holders with wallets holding between 100,000 and 100 million XRP added 2.8% more coins to their balances over the past five weeks.
- Wallets holding between 100,000 and 100 million XRP, often referred to as whales and sharks, have been accumulating more coins, suggesting stronger hands are leaning into the current price action.
- In contrast, the smallest XRP wallets have shed 5.2% of their holdings during the same period, indicating a capitulation by small holders.
- Historically, XRP's price has tended to move more with key stakeholders, such as large holders, and against the smallest retail wallets, making the current split in accumulation trends bullish for XRP, according to Santiment.
- The recent accumulation by large holders and capitulation by small holders coincide with several positive fundamental developments for XRP, including improved institutional access through potential ETF products and continued utility on the XRP Ledger for payments, tokenization, and the RLUSD stablecoin.