The big players sold or redistributed XRP tokens worth over $1.5 billion.
Ripple’s cross-border token has dropped by 4% over the past week, but the latest actions by large investors suggest a more substantial plunge could be on the way.
On the other hand, there might be a silver lining as institutional interest is growing, but let’s examine.
The Whales Back off
The renowned crypto analyst Ali Martinez revealed that whales have sold or redistributed 1.1 billion XRP over the last seven days. The USD equivalent of this stash is more than $1.5 billion and should serve as a warning to the bulls.
After all, this cohort of investors rarely makes major sales or purchases without a purpose, and some believe they move early because they know something the rest of the market doesn’t.
This kind of behavior could signal reduced confidence in the asset and possible volatility ahead. It may also spread panic across the community and cause smaller players to cash out too. Following the latest sell-off, whales now control less than 7.9 billion XRP, representing 12% of the asset’s circulating supply.
This isn’t the first time Martinez has commented on the coin lately. At the start of the business week, he estimated that XRP had consolidated in a triangle pattern and had touched its apex, which means “the probability of a large price move increases.” It is important to note that the breakout could be in either direction.
Meanwhile, XRP holders have been intrigued by the US SEC’s recent proposal as it could reshape the regulatory view of the token.
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Green Days for the ETFs
Spot XRP ETFs have seen serious inflows lately, meaning that institutional investors, including hedge funds and pension funds, have increased their exposure to the asset. In fact, the last day when outflows dominated was April 9. This can be interpreted as a bullish driver, given that issuers of these products must back the shares they sell with real tokens.
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Source: SoSoValue
The first spot XRP ETF debuted in November last year and was introduced by Canary Capital. Later on, Bitwise, Franklin Templeton, 21Shares, and Grayscale followed suit. Recently, the cumulative total net inflows of these investment products surged to а new all-time high of almost $1.3 billion.
That said, both of these are lagging indicators, meaning that they precede price action. They do not directly predict future events, but can be used to estimate probabilities. If institutional flows remain strong, this could create a more solid foundaiton for XRP’s price, making it more challenging for sellers to push the price lower.
