XRP whale wallets just surged to a yearly high while the price was falling, and now that XRP is pushing back above $1.30, traders are split on whether big money is loading up or simply reshuffling coins ahead of another…
The Crypto Desk desk. Editor: Sam Daodu.
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Wallets containing at least 1 million XRP (CRYPTO:XRP) climbed to 2,147 today, marking the highest number of the year, according to on-chain analytics firm Santiment. The data showed that 28 new XRP whale wallets emerged in just 10 days, with 18 of those accounts appearing within three remarkable days, even as XRP struggled.
XRP is trading at $1.32, a rise of 2.9% over the past 24 hours. This uptick pushes XRP back above $1.30. However, XRP still sits 63.8% below its all-time high of $3.65, down 28.3% year-to-date and 12.5% over the last month.
So, does this rise in large XRP wallets indicate that the market has reached its bottom, or are these whales positioning too early for a bounce that may not last?
Santiment’s 2,147-Wallet Count Tracks How Big Holders Store XRP
Santiment organizes XRP addresses by how many coins each wallet holds. A wallet qualifies as a “million-XRP wallet” if it contains at least 1 million coins, which is valued at around $1.32 million at today’s prices.
An increase in wallet numbers could signal new purchases; however, it could also mean a holder moved coins between wallets. Therefore, the count reflects how coins are currently held rather than predicting future price movements.
Traders tend to interpret a rising whale count as a positive sign since large holders are believed to take a long-term view. When larger wallets accumulate coins during a downturn, it limits the supply available to sell into any potential rebound.
This is why the appearance of 18 new wallets in a short timeframe gained attention, especially as they appeared while XRP traded near $1.24 to $1.26, close to its lowest levels in a month.
Why XRP’s Whale Signal May Not Be as Strong as It Seems
The change in whale counts is relatively modest. The 28 new wallets represent a small addition to the existing 2,147; most holders already held their coins before the October drop. Thus, the signal is largely coming from holders who chose not to sell, with limited input from fresh investments.
Additionally, this count can’t distinguish between someone new buying XRP and an existing holder simply redistributing their coins. When a fund transfers coins from one custody address to several new ones, the whale count rises, even without any actual purchase of new XRP. Exchanges commonly shift coins between addresses for security and accounting purposes, which can inflate the apparent number of new whales.
Despite rising wallet counts, XRP’s price hasn’t shown corresponding strength. New wallets formed in late October, but XRP still dropped to a low of $1.20 on October 30. The largest trading volume over the previous ten sessions occurred on October 29 and 30—two days marked by significant selling pressure —suggesting sellers held the upper hand, regardless of whale activity.
Moreover, the whale count does not fully account for exchange purchases. Trades on exchanges typically adjust balances only on the exchange’s internal ledger, without affecting the XRP Ledger. Hence, the count captures only demand that moves coins off exchanges into private wallets. While there have been outflows from Binance, those could represent custody transfers rather than actual purchases.
Can XRP Hold Above $1.30 as Whale Wallets Hit a 2026 High?
XRP could reasonably stay above $1.30, but the rising whale count alone won’t be enough to hold it there. The increase in large wallets shows that major holders held steady through a 12.5% monthly drop. However, the whale count cannot confirm new buyers, and XRP ETFs recorded zero net flows on November 3, so ETF money hasn’t returned yet.
If XRP ETFs return to net inflows while the whale count continues to rise beyond 2,147, this could indeed enhance the whale signal by bringing new buyers into the market.
On price action, if XRP closes above $1.34, eyes could turn to the 50-day average at $1.39. On the downside, if XRP closes below $1.29, it could signal a failure of the recent breakout, potentially leading to a drift toward $1.23, the November 2 low, and lower to $1.20, which was the October low, or even the year’s lowest close of $0.99 from August.
Contact [email protected] for any questions or corrections.
Sam Daodu is a crypto analyst and the editor of 24/7 Wall St.'s Crypto Desk, where he covers Bitcoin, XRP, Ethereum, Solana and the altcoins investors search for most. His work focuses on price levels, spot ETF flows, on-chain data and the regulatory decisions that move crypto markets, written so a first-time buyer and a seasoned trader can both use it.
Sam has written about crypto professionally since 2019 and has published more than 2,000 articles. Before joining 24/7 Wall St., he wrote for crypto media outlets and Web3 companies and ghostwrote for crypto founders and token launches. His analysis is syndicated on Yahoo Finance, MSN and AOL and has been cited by other crypto news sites. He also founded MacLabs Marketing, a content and personal branding agency for crypto founders and executives.
When he isn't reading charts, Sam is usually at the gym or watching One Piece, a series he maintains has better tokenomics than most altcoins.
