Ripple’s XRP ownership shifts as whales regain 68% of supply

Ripple’s XRP shifted its ownership culture, as whales are once again the major influence. Over 68% of the XRP supply is now in the hands of whales, the largest share since 2022. Whales bought up XRP actively and are once again becoming one of the major factors for the asset’s direction.

Based on Santiment data, whales control 68. 5% of the entire XRP supply, or over 46B tokens. The group of large-scale holders and whales now own the largest amount of XRP since 2022.

For years, whales distributed their XRP, leading to a stagnant price. The renewed accumulation is a reversal of this trend, as retail capitulates after years of stagnant prices. In October, whales were also active traders, with an uptick in flows to Binance.

XRP flows to Binance had an uptick in October, but whales did not abandon their trend of accumulation. | Source: Cryptoquant At the same time, accumulation for the long term continued and whales abandoned their previous trend of distribution to retail. XRP recovers above $1.

30 In the past day, XRP recovered along with the rest of the market, moving up to $1. 33. Until recently, XRP struggled at a lower level, while whale accumulation showed signs of conviction.

According to Santiment analysis, a breakout above $1. 30 may be a signal to regain the $1. 50 level.

Whales have been known to distribute XRP during rallies, with immediate shifts in exchange flows. For now, the accumulation narrative is one of the main signals for XRP conviction. XRP volumes also recovered in October, hovering near their higher range for the past three months.

The asset has already gone through short-term hype cycles and has been boosted by influencers. This time, the large-scale whale accumulation raises the issue of long-term conviction and a higher price range. XRP open interest is also near its highest range for the past three months, as derivative traders attempt to benefit from an eventual breakout.

XRP is in a tight price range based on derivative positions, with liquidity accumulation at $1. 35, potentially anticipating a rally to liquidate short positions. For now, only 24% of traders attempt to short XRP, while trading may be riskier for the holders of long positions.

On Hyperliquid, whales are more bearish, holding 42% in short positions. Will XRP and Ripple become a part of mainstream finance? The big question surrounding XRP is its utility.

For now, the asset trades on exchanges independent of Ripple’s activity. As Cryptopolitan reported, Ripple recently launched a 24/7 trading platform with AI features, though XRP did not immediately react with price action. Additionally, Ripple received final approval for a National Trust Bank status, opening the door to further utility as financial infrastructure.

Recently, Ripple also announced a wider partnership with the Robinhood app, with a key role for the RLUSD stablecoin, access to Ripple Prime and Ripple Treasury, as well as other stablecoins and prime brokerage services. Ripple’s decentralized platform, XRPL, also showed a sudden expansion in DeFi activity. As of October 28, the value locked in XRPL expanded exponentially, up to $338M.

Previously, the XRPL DeFi space only locked around $38M in value, based on DeFi Llama data. XRPL was left behind other protocols and platforms due to limited app usage and competition from Ethereum and Solana. Despite the rise in value locked, XRPL apps still produce limited fees, and XRP is not always linked to fees or incentives, unlike other platform tokens.

There is still hope for using XRP as a key asset on XRPL, in the case of a DeFi revival of the decentralized platform as a major settlement layer. Ripple has made multiple attempts to integrate with the banking system, but the mix of XRPL and Robinhood usage is seen as more hopeful for mass adoption and bringing back retail traders. As of October, retail sentiment remains low for XRP, going against the direction of whales and influencers.

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