XRP Whale Demand Reaches Seven-Year Highs – Why the Price Remains Vulnerable

XRP experienced a decline, falling below $2 following the market crash on December 1st, hitting a local low around $1.90 before a slight recovery. As of now, Ripple’s XRP is trading at $2.02, reflecting a decrease of 1.28% on the daily charts and 8.42% on the weekly timeframe. Despite this downward trend, whales have quickly seized the opportunity to buy.

Key Takeaways

XRP’s price recently dropped below $2 as the market faces bearish conditions.
Whale activity in the spot market has significantly increased, indicating strong buying behavior.
Despite whale interest, XRP’s overall market position remains fragile and could face further declines.
Recent metrics show a significant increase in whale holdings, reaching a seven-year high.

Ripple's XRP

Active Whales Amid Price Weakness

Even as XRP struggles to maintain its price, whale activity has been notably prominent in the spot market. Data from CryptoQuant indicates that the Spot Average Order Size metric has shown large values for 30 consecutive days.

XRP spot average order size

This metric indicates increased whale participation, either by buying or selling XRP. Currently, whales have been on an aggressive accumulation. The Spot Taker Cumulative Volume Delta (CVD) has maintained a positive trend for three weeks, indicating a strong preference for buying.

XRP spot taker CVD

Shift in XRP Whale Holdings

Interestingly, despite the rise in whale activity, XRP has seen a significant change in its holding dynamics. Data from Santiment reveals that the number of wallets holding 100 million or more XRP has decreased by 20.6% over the last eight weeks. Nonetheless, these wallets collectively hold 48 billion XRP, marking the highest level in seven years.

Ripple's XRP whale

Conversely, Whale to Exchange Flow on Binance has remained low, with approximately 1,000 daily transfers over the past month. This trend demonstrates that whales have been favoring withdrawals while minimizing deposits, which aligns with their accumulation strategy.

whale to exchange

Technical Indicators Signal Bearish Control

XRP’s prolonged price weakness has opened a buying opportunity, especially for whales. However, despite the rising whale demand, XRP remains in a structurally bearish state. The Relative Vigor Index (RVGI) recently showed a bearish crossover, dropping to -0.02, which indicates sustained downward pressure.

XRP RVGI zero cross

This bearish crossover suggests that sellers continue to dominate the market, and whale demand has not been sufficient to give buyers control. As a result, there is an underlying risk of further losses. If the bearish trend continues, XRP might drop below the $2 mark again, with the Parabolic SAR providing support at around $1.90. However, if whale demand strengthens, XRP could potentially reclaim $2.20, with the aim of reaching $2.50.

Conclusion

In summary, while whale demand for XRP has reached significant levels, indicating increased buying interest, the overall market conditions remain fragile. New investors should keep an eye on these developments, as the future trajectory of XRP depends heavily on the balance between whale activity and broader market trends.