XRP whales have unloaded nearly 200 million tokens in the 48 hours following the debut of the first US spot XRP ETF, dampening the excitement from one of the most anticipated launches in the asset’s history.
Key Takeaways:
- XRP whales dumped nearly 200 million tokens within 48 hours of the ETF launch, signaling heavy selling pressure.
- Despite a blockbuster ETF debut, XRP’s price slipped as whales sold and technical indicators turned bearish.
- The divergence between whale selling and institutional inflows reflects broader risk-off sentiment across the crypto market.
In a recent post on X, on-chain analyst Ali said large holders “dumped nearly 200 million XRP in just 48 hours,” a signal that the biggest wallets are selling into the post-ETF rally rather than accumulating.
XRP’s SEC Triumph Paves Way for Blockbuster ETF Launch on Nasdaq
The selling comes at a pivotal moment for XRP, now the fourth-largest cryptocurrency with a market cap of roughly $136 billion.
Its community has been celebrating a years-long legal victory over the US Securities and Exchange Commission, which in 2023 led a federal court to rule that XRP is not a security when traded on exchanges.
That ruling helped push institutions back toward XRP and set the stage for Thursday’s launch of the Canary Capital XRP ETF on Nasdaq, the strongest ETF debut of the year with $58 million in first-day trading volume and more than $250 million in inflows.
However, whales appear unmoved by the milestone. XRP has fallen 4.3% in 24 hours, sliding from $2.31 to $2.22 and forming a clear lower-highs pattern that suggests near-term bearish pressure.
Crypto trader Tara warned that XRP is breaking down toward key buy levels around $2 and could drop further to $2.05 or even $1.88 unless Bitcoin stabilizes. She said volatility is likely to increase as XRP approaches these zones.
The ETF’s strong inflows have not been reflected in trading volume because the product uses in-kind creations, allowing institutions to exchange ETF shares directly for XRP without activity showing up on public order books.
ETF analyst Nate Geraci said this explains how the ETF posted low visible volume but high inflows.
At the same time, data from Nansen shows that top-performing “smart money” wallets added $44 million in long positions over the past day.
The disconnect between whale selling and institutional interest may come down to broader market conditions.
Crypto remains in a risk-off phase, with Bitcoin ETFs seeing $866 million in outflows on the same day, one of their worst sessions on record.
Ripple Welcomes Fed Proposal Giving Crypto Firms Access to Payment Rails
Last week, Ripple’s chief legal officer, Stu Alderoty, said a proposal from Federal Reserve Governor Christopher Waller to allow crypto companies access to “skinny” Fed accounts could reshape the US digital asset landscape.
Waller argued that stablecoin issuers and other crypto firms should be able to tap directly into the Fed’s payment systems, reducing reliance on traditional banks that often hesitate to serve the sector.
He urged regulators to “embrace the disruption — don’t avoid it,” signaling a more open stance toward decentralized finance.
Ripple, which previously applied for a Fed master account to support its RLUSD stablecoin, sees the idea as transformative.
Alderoty told Reuters the proposal could speed up settlement, lower costs and help RLUSD gain traction in a competitive stablecoin market dominated by Tether and Circle.
He added that having direct access to the Fed would improve stability and redeemability, enabling firms to move quickly between U.S. Treasuries and dollars without banking middlemen.
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