CoinDesk
Wallets holding between 100,000 and 100 million XRP added 2.8% more coins to their balances over the past five weeks, according to on-chain data from Santiment, while the smallest holders shed 5.2% of their bags in the same window. The split has coincided with XRP climbing more than 8% since the end of June, recovering from $1 to above $1.16.
The divergence matters because, historically, XRP has tended to track the cohort with the larger capital base. Santiment framed the pattern bluntly: when whales and sharks are adding while retail is capitulating, the price has typically had more room to run.
Why it matters
The accumulation backdrop lines up with several structural tailwinds for XRP. Institutional access is widening through potential spot ETF products, and the XRP Ledger continues to draw utility from payments, tokenization, and the RLUSD stablecoin. That combination has kept the asset in focus for sophisticated buyers even as casual holders step back.
Market impact
The 8% recovery to $1.16 came almost entirely against a backdrop of retail selling, which is the cleanest version of this divergence. If the historical pattern holds, the cohort doing the heavier lifting on volume is now positioned for further upside rather than reacting to short-term moves. The next signal to watch is whether the whale cohort keeps adding at this pace once XRP challenges the $1.20 zone.
Frequently asked questions
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How much have XRP whales accumulated in the past five weeks?
According to on-chain data from Santiment, wallets holding between 100,000 and 100 million XRP added 2.8% more coins to their balances over the past five weeks.
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What have small XRP holders been doing during the same period?
The smallest wallets shed 5.2% of their holdings over the same five-week window, in what Santiment described as retail capitulation against the whale buying.
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How has XRP's price moved during this accumulation period?
XRP has climbed more than 8% since the end of June, recovering from $1 to above $1.16 as the whale-versus-retail divergence played out.
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Why is the whale-retail split considered bullish for XRP?
Santiment noted that XRP price has historically tracked key stakeholders more than the smallest retail wallets, so whales adding while retail sells has typically aligned with further gains.
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What fundamental factors are supporting the XRP bid?
Santiment pointed to widening institutional access through potential spot ETF products plus continued utility on the XRP Ledger from payments, tokenization, and the RLUSD stablecoin.
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