XRP Whale Holdings Rise 2.8% in Five Weeks as Retailers Keep Selling

Highlights: 

• XRP whale holdings have continued to rise even as the broader market appears to be declining.
• Santiment reported that these large investors increased their holdings by 2.8% in the past five weeks.
• While whales continue to accumulate XRP, retailers have been dumping the asset, reflecting contrasting investors’ behaviour. 

XRP’s price has exceeded previous support levels, and recent on-chain data suggests that the price increase may be backed by massive whale accumulations rather than short-term speculation. In an X post on Tuesday, on-chain analytical firm Santiment reported that wallets holding between 100,000 and 100 million XRP have increased their combined holdings by 2.8% in the past five weeks. 

The increment shows that large investors have been accumulating XRP even while the broader crypto market appears to be declining. The consistent acquisitions by whales came before XRP’s latest price recovery. On the contrary, smaller wallets holding less than 0.01 XRP have reduced their holdings by 5.2% during the same period. This creates a clear difference between the behaviour of large holders and retail investors. 

The analytical intelligence platform explained:

“Historically, XRP price has tended to move more with key stakeholders and against the smallest retail wallets, so this split supports the bullish case behind the bounce.”

🐋 XRP’s move back above $1.16 Tuesday looks very much justified based on recent wallet behavior. Whales & sharks holding 100K to 100M XRP have added +2.8% more coins to their bags in five weeks, showing whales and sharks are leaning in while the chart finally starts rewarding… pic.twitter.com/aFmRll4HKJ

— Santiment Intelligence (@SantimentData) July 21, 2026

Santiment Highlights Other Factors Contributing to XRP’s Recent Price Surge

According to Santiment, the broader market environment is also giving XRP additional support. For example, interest from institutions has grown through XRP exchange-traded products. In addition, Ripple has moved beyond its long-running legal battle with the US SEC. The XRP Ledger (XRPL) has also recorded heightened activity in areas such as cross-border payments, tokenized assets, and Ripple’s RLUSD stablecoin. 

Meanwhile, a separate Santiment analysis revealed that XRP’s 30-day Market Value to Realized Value (MVRV) ratio has returned to short-term profit alongside several of the largest cryptocurrencies, including Bitcoin (BTC), Ethereum (ETH), Cardano (ADA), and Chainlink (LINK).

The MVRV shift follows Bitcoin’s recovery to around $65,000. Several factors, including lower inflation, stronger demand for exchange-traded products, and improving investor confidence across many financial markets, were crucial in aiding the market’s recent recovery.

Santiment added:

“This is where the market gets more delicate. When 30-day MVRV rises above 0%, traders active over the past month are no longer underwater, which means crypto’s usual zero-sum pressure can start shifting toward profit-taking risk.”

For XRP, a positive 30-day MVRV means wallets that bought the tokens during the past month are currently in profit following the broader crypto market recovery. While this reflects improving market conditions, it also suggests that some investors might decide to hold the assets if the price continues to rise.

Overall, Santiment explained that the crypto market has moved beyond the period where fear created the strongest buying opportunities. Positive MVRV readings show that the crypto market recovery is gaining strength. However, short-term selling can increase if momentum begins to drop.

🔗 Live Chart: https://t.co/uJiRxJoC9r

📈 Top caps have finally pushed their 30-day MVRV’s back above neutral, with $BTC, $ETH, $ADA, $XRP, and LINK all showing average short-term wallets in slight profit. That matches the mood shift after Bitcoin’s recovery back around the $65K… pic.twitter.com/yaIUVHdSkF

— Santiment Intelligence (@SantimentData) July 20, 2026

XRP Price Dips Slightly Despite Soaring Whale Holdings

At the time of press, XRP is changing hands at about $1.13 following a 0.2% decline in the past 24 hours. The asset has a market capitalization of about $70.711 billion, a trading volume of $1.36 billion, and a fully diluted valuation of $113.18 billion. In the past week, XRP’s price has appreciated by 2.3%. However, it has dropped by 0.3% month-to-date and 67.3% year-to-date.

Coincodex’s data showed that XRP’s supply inflation is high at 5.55%, volatility is medium at 2.86%, while sentiment stays neutral. The asset’s “Fear & Greed Index” continues to point to “Extreme Fear” at 25. In addition, 65% of the top 100 most valuable cryptocurrencies have outperformed XRP in the past year.