Key Takeaways:
- Retail buyers, not whales, are driving XRP’s recent 70% rally.
- Wallets holding 1M–100M XRP hit record highs, while billion-XRP whales reduced exposure.
- XRP’s social buzz surged alongside price, but mid-tier retail wallets (10–100 XRP) declined.
XRP price dropped nearly 12% in the past 24-hour from its all-time high (ATH) of $3.66 on the account of profit booking. The price picked up the momentum since July 9, and gained more than 40%. There is an overall dip in the crypto market, which is a normal market reaction after witnessing strong momentum in the short span of time.
However, the recent price surge is due to the retail push or whale’s activity-is important to understand for further market action.
XRP’s on-chain landscape is showing an unusual divergence: even as the token’s price and social media buzz have skyrocketed, the largest whales appear to be trimming their holdings.
Data from Santiment indicates that addresses holding over 1 billion XRP, the mega-whales of the network, have reduced their collective stash just as XRP embarked on a sharp rally. In other words, “Who’s buying XRP?” Recent metrics suggest it’s not the biggest whales fueling this surge.
Whales Lighten Up While XRP Climbs
On-chain analytics reveal that whale wallets have been declining in balance during XRP’s price ascent, a sign of distribution by major holders. At the start of the year, wallets holding over 1 billion XRP controlled nearly 39% of the total supply.
However, their share dropped sharply to around 34% just before XRP’s recent price breakout, suggesting potential offload of XRP during a period of price increase. Interestingly, as price and social volume surged, the large holders’ share climbed back to 36.75%, indicating a partial return of whale holdings either through re-accumulation or structural on-chain shifts.
Price Breakout and Surging Social Volume
As social volume increased sharply, especially in early July, XRP’s price also experienced a significant rise. This implies that heightened retail attention and social buzz likely played a role in amplifying bullish momentum. Notably, the social volume peaked just before or during price tops, suggesting that social sentiment may act as a short-term lagging or coincident indicator with price often following or peaking alongside retail chatter.
Which Wallets Are Buying XRP
Putting these trends together, the data suggests that retail investors and smaller holders may be driving XRP’s current rally, rather than the biggest long-term whales.
While the largest billion-XRP wallets scaled back, the network saw a broad uptick in participation from other segments. Millionaire wallets, those holding between 1 million and 10 million XRP, have also risen, hitting an all-time high of 2,212 wallets. Wallets holding between 10 million and 100 million XRP have steadily increased their holdings, reaching record levels at 332 wallets.
The latest XRP wallet distribution data presents a nuanced view of retail sentiment. Wallets holding between 1–10 XRP and those in the higher retail range (100 to 100,000 XRP) have shown consistent growth, indicating ongoing accumulation among newer entrants and more committed holders. In contrast, the 10–100 XRP cohort has experienced a notable decline, suggesting that only this particular group may be exiting the market or consolidating their positions amid recent price movements.
Conclusion
Crucially, this does not imply any immediate reversal by itself, but it does paint a picture of who’s behind the surge. XRP’s rally has been fueled by the wider community and investor base, with on-chain evidence of whale distribution amid retail-driven demand.
For traders and investors, the takeaway is clear; it suggests a rally powered by the collective enthusiasm of smaller and mid-tier players. Such episodes can be potent, as evidenced by XRP’s dramatic climb, but savvy market watchers will keep an eye on whether whales eventually rejoin the party or continue to stay out.
