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XRP has fallen below $1. This is not a rumor, but a fact. The threshold had held since late 2024, and now it has broken, with a decline of over 5% in a month. Yet, while the price retreats, large wallets are stocking up.
What Happened
Ripple and its token XRP are going through a strange phase. The price is losing ground, small investors are hesitating, yet large wallets continue to absorb. Thirty-two new wallets holding at least one million XRP each have emerged over the last three months. Not one, not five — thirty-two. This is a signal that cannot be ignored. These holders are not panicking. They are buying. Meanwhile, flows to XRP ETFs are drying up: the balance showed zero on several recent sessions, and inflows have dropped from $14.86 million to just $1.01 million. The gap between the direct conviction of institutions and their apparent disinterest in packaged products is where things get really blurry.
Historical Context
We’ve seen this before. In 2018, Bitcoin fell below $4,000. Major players in the sector took the opportunity to load up. Three years later, Bitcoin reached historic highs. Ethereum after The DAO debacle in 2016 followed the same pattern: short-term disillusionment, massive accumulation, then ascent. Is XRP replaying this scenario? Maybe. Probably not exactly the same. But the parallel exists, and on-chain data gives pause for thought.
What makes the current moment particular is the locking of tokens on centralized exchanges. Inflows have dropped by 79% compared to the 90-day moving average. Outflows have plummeted by 85%. Essentially, holders are not moving. They are keeping. This mechanically limits the available supply on the market — and could, over time, impact prices. But “over time” remains vague. No timeline, no guarantee.
Why It Matters
The derivatives market tells another story. The taker buy/sell ratio on Binance has fallen to 0.86. Below 1, it means sellers dominate buyers in aggressive transactions. The Cumulative Volume Delta remains in negative territory. So on one hand, whales are quietly accumulating. On the other, selling pressure persists on derivatives. Both things are true at the same time, and that is exactly what makes reading the XRP market so complicated right now.
Then there’s the network activity. The number of daily active addresses on the Ripple network increased from 26,400 in July to 35,700 in August. A significant rise. But — and it’s the “but” that counts — the total number of wallets remains stable. So these are not new users coming in. It’s existing users transacting more. Intensity is rising, the base is not growing. Good sign or bad sign? Still unclear.
What to Watch
Three things deserve close monitoring in the coming weeks.
First, the number of wallets holding more than a million XRP over the next quarter. If accumulation continues at this pace, it would indicate that institutional conviction remains strong despite the price. Thirty-two new wallets in three months is already a brisk pace.
Next, the balance of XRP ETFs at the end of August. We have gone from $14.86 million to $1.01 million in inflows — a collapse. Even a partial positive reversal would change the picture. But for now, institutional disinterest in these products remains clear.
Finally, the taker buy/sell ratio on Binance. As long as it remains below 1, sellers maintain control over the derivatives market. A return above 1 would be the first concrete signal of a reversal in pressure. Not sufficient alone, but necessary.
Hub: XRP: Price, News, and Analysis
What we know for sure: long-term holders are not selling. Exchange flows are at their lowest. And thirty-two new whales have decided that below $1, XRP is worth accumulating. ETF inflows have fallen to $1.01 million.
