XRP Price Surges Above $1 for First Time Since 2021
Recent market dynamics have seen the XRP price surging past the $1 mark for the first time since 2021. This marks a significant milestone, as XRP has traded below $0.6 for most of the last three years.
The rally is driven by key market dynamics and strategic accumulation by large stakeholders. On-chain data reveals an intriguing trend among whales, sharks, and retail wallets.
XRP Price Breakout To $1.26: Whale And Shark Accumulation Driving Surge
The XRP price reached $1.26 on Binance, a level not seen since November 11, 2021. This three-year high coincides with a broader cryptocurrency market rally but is particularly influenced by strategic moves from key stakeholders and an anticipated change in US SEC leadership.
On-chain analytics platform Santiment indicates that large XRP holders, specifically those with between 1 million and 100 million tokens, have played a crucial role in this breakout. This group includes semi-large and large holders.
XRP whale and shark wallets have accumulated 453.3 million XRP tokens in the past week, raising their total holdings to approximately 18% of the total supply. At the current average price, this accumulation is valued at around $526.3 million. Historically, significant acquisitions by large market participants signal bullish sentiment and often precede price increases.
Conversely, while whales and sharks are accumulating XRP, retail traders are offloading their holdings. Santiment reports that wallets holding less than 1 million XRP have sold 75.7 million tokens over the past week, valued at about $87.9 million. Most of these offloaded tokens have been purchased by shark and whale wallets, mitigating potential negative impacts.
What’s Next For XRP?
The surge in XRP price has allowed it to displace Dogecoin in market cap rankings, regaining its position as the sixth-largest asset. XRP is up approximately 11% in the past 24 hours, while Dogecoin has declined by about 7%.
Currently, XRP has retraced slightly from its three-year high of $1.26 and is trading at $1.06. However, bullish sentiment remains, especially if large holders maintain positions above the $1 mark, potentially leading to increased retail activity.
Crypto analyst Egrag Crypto suggests the next bullish step is for XRP to close above $1.10 on the current weekly candlestick.
Featured image from DALL-E, chart from TradingView