As XRP struggles to hold the $2 support, data shows that the asset’s ledger has experienced a notable shift in its distribution patterns, with the number of whale and shark wallets holding 100 million XRP or more shrinking significantly.
Over the past eight weeks, the number of these large wallets has dropped by 20.6%, with 569 fewer such addresses recorded, according to Santiment data shared on December 1.
Despite this reduction in the number of large wallets, those remaining have continued to grow their holdings, now collectively holding a remarkable 48 billion XRP. This marks a seven-year high for the total amount of XRP held by top wallets.
Impact on XRP price
This trend suggests a consolidation of holdings among top-tier addresses, potentially signaling that these large players are positioning themselves for the long term.
Meanwhile, the shrinking number of large XRP wallets suggests smaller holders may be selling or being priced out, while larger investors continue to accumulate.
This could reduce circulating supply and, with growing demand, push XRP’s price higher. The increasing holdings of whales and sharks further indicate a bullish outlook, reinforcing market confidence and potentially attracting more investment.
Indeed, while the structure can influence the price of XRP, the asset’s spot exchange-traded funds are also flashing signs of helping the cryptocurrency sustain gains above $2.
On December 1, the four XRP-focused ETFs attracted $89.65 million, pushing total inflows to $756.26 million since XRP’s debut. This makes XRP ETFs the best-performing funds in the cryptocurrency sector, outperforming Bitcoin ETFs, which gained just $8.48 million. In contrast, Ethereum (ETH), Solana (SOL), and Dogecoin (DOGE)-focused ETFs saw significant outflows, including over $79 million from Ethereum and $13.55 million from Solana.
XRP price analysis
By press time, XRP was trading at $2.04, having rallied about 1.2% in the past 24 hours. However, on the weekly timeline, the asset is down over 8%.
At the current price, XRP’s 50-day Simple Moving Average (SMA) stands at $2.35, indicating that the price is currently below its short-term average, which suggests a bearish sentiment. Additionally, the 200-day SMA of $2.65 reinforces this negative outlook, showing the price is well below its longer-term trend.
The 14-day Relative Strength Index (RSI) is at 39.63, which is considered neutral but leans toward the oversold territory. This could imply that XRP is under some selling pressure but is not yet at extreme levels, suggesting potential for a rebound or further consolidation depending on market conditions.
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