Whales have been extremely bullish on XRP, but the price is not moving as much.
According to chain datawallets containing at least 10 million XRP now collectively hold 45.8 billion tokens, worth over $68.5 billion. According to Santiment, this is the maximum held by this cohort of whales since May 2018.
In other words, the demand for whales at press time, or 68.5% of the overall supply of XRP, resulted in an all-time high over the past eight years.
However, a closer look at the aforementioned whale movements also coincided with Spot XRP ETF flows.
Institutional demand for XRP stagnates
Total assets held by US Spot XRP ETFs were just $1.25 billion at press time. This represents only a fraction of the entire XRP assets ($68 billion) held by whales. However, there is a strong correlation between ETF flows and XRP price action in the short term.
To some extent, whale accumulation could also be positively correlated with ETF flows.
Whales notably accelerated accumulation in late 2025, and this trend coincided with strong ETF inflows. This was right after the products launched during the crypto winter (November 2025).
However, demand for ETFs declined during the Christmas holidays and remained stagnant in 2026.
In fact, the same subdued demand for ETFs in 2026 has been reflected in the on-chain whale demand trend, which has remained stable at around 68% of supply over the past few months.
Consequently, the altcoin has fallen below $1.5 since the start of the second quarter. Overall, it remained in a range between $1.3 and $1.6 in the first half of 2026. The sideways structure could expand unless ETF demand improves and retail trading picks up.
Only 2% chance of a bullish breakout in XRP
On Deribit, options traders were pricing in just a 2% chance that XRP could clear $2 by the end of May. This further underlined the market’s low expectations for a bullish breakout, despite record whale accumulation.
It’s not yet clear whether the tepid outlook is due to the typical summer lull.
However, the low interest in altcoins is not unique to XRP. In fact, the broader altcoin sector trended downward or stagnated as BTC dominated investor interest.
Final summary
- XRP whales have accumulated a record 45.8 billion tokens, worth $68 billion – marking the highest record since 2018.
- However, weak ETF inflows locally and weak retail demand could widen the price range from $1.3 to $1.6.
