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XRP whales buy 140M tokens, driving price surges and speculation.
In a notable display of bullish confidence, XRP whales have aggressively increased their holdings over the past week to over 140 million XRP tokens.
According to crypto analyst Ali, this important acquisition valued at close to $84 million reveals solid sentiment among the biggest XRP investors, also colloquially called ‘whales.’.
The high-cap investors’ buying frenzy comes amid a remarkable uptrend in XRP’s market performance. Indeed, the cryptocurrency surged hugely from day five of July, adding roughly 40% in value to reach a peak of $0.637. In line with this is the huge activity level noted within the XRP Ledger network, which has spiraled to heights higher than those registered since March, regarding the number of new addresses created and total addresses interacting.
XRP whales activity- Market faces profit-taking
The on-chain data has shown that the spike in XRP’s price is directly related to increasing accumulation by whales and other large holders, usually tagged as sharks, with holdings of not less than 100,000 XRP tokens. Indeed, large wallet holders now control 85% of the total XRP supply, a strategic positioning that has supported the recent rally, according to recent data by Santiment.
This accumulation trend among these major players took a dramatic shift back in August, further accelerating XRP northbound in its upsurge. When the coin had tanked to the low of $0.54 back on July 19, XRP did not stick at the low but instead staged a come-up four days in a row. Nevertheless, the latest trading pattern heralds the phase of profit-taking, and XRP is currently exchanging hands around $0.6011, signifying a slight 0.10% windfall over the last 24 hours. This marginal gain is just the background to quiet market activity.
Ripple CEO Brad Garlinghouse has been very vocal lately about the argument between them and the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). He has expressed his wishes for a settlement to halt this lawsuit but added that there is no way to predict when any court decisions will come. “We expect resolution very soon, but we can’t predict when the judge will rule there,” said Garlinghouse.
SEC lawsuit sparks speculation
The SEC lawsuit against Ripple Labs dovetails into the definition of XRP as a security—a point that holds heavy implications for both regulatory jurisdiction and the greater cryptocurrency market. Last July, a U.S. district judge made a historic decision that sales of XRP to retail investors through exchanges did not represent investment contracts. This ruling was widely seen as a blow to the SEC, and it’s put the agency under intense scrutiny on how to regulate.
Fueling the rumors even further, there is a “closed meeting” scheduled on the SEC’s website for July 25. Nobody from the crypto space can say what it is about, but with its timing, everyone in the sector is speculating about what might come out regarding the ongoing court issue with Ripple.
With the XRP market continuously developing, the actions of the big holders and regulatory dynamics will be key to igniting or stopping investor sentiment and market dynamics. The continued aggressive buying from XRP Whales is a clear affirmation of belief in the future of the cryptocurrency, but the ongoing lawsuits with the SEC create a dimension of uncertainty that investors will monitor carefully in the coming weeks.
While doing so, market participants and analysts of repute continue to watch with rapt attention any new developments that might impact the direction of XRP and, most importantly, the future of cryptocurrency regulation on the global stage.
