XRP Price Slumps: Whale Activity and ETF Delays Cast a Shadow
XRP’s price has fallen below the crucial $3.00 mark, extending its recent decline. This downturn is largely attributed to significant whale sell-offs and the ongoing uncertainty surrounding ETF approvals. The cryptocurrency currently trades at $2.8, representing a 3.68% drop in the last 24 hours, despite a slight 0.82% increase in trading volume to $6.85 billion.
On-chain data reveals that whales have unloaded a staggering 470 million XRP tokens over the past 10 days, reducing their total holdings to 7.63 billion. This large-scale divestment by wallets holding between 10 million and 100 million XRP suggests profit-taking by institutional investors and high-net-worth individuals following XRP’s recent rally above $3.39.
Analyzing the Price Action
The most significant price drop occurred between 13:00 and 15:00 UTC on August 19th, when XRP plummeted from $3.04 to $2.93, accompanied by a surge in volume to 137 million—nearly double the daily average. However, the $2.85–$2.90 range has shown resilience, acting as a temporary support level. While short-term selling pressure appears to be easing, the $3.04 resistance level remains a significant hurdle for any bullish recovery.
Source: XRPUSD on Tradingview
Critical Support and Future Outlook
The $2.8 level is now a critical support point for XRP. A breach of this level could trigger a more substantial decline, while reclaiming $3.00 would signal a resurgence of buyer confidence. Analysts highlight that a sustained move above $3.19 is crucial for a bullish reversal. Adding to the downward pressure, a recent security audit ranked the XRP Ledger poorly among its peers, raising concerns about its long-term stability.
The SEC’s delay in deciding on several XRP ETF applications, including Nasdaq’s CoinShares filing, until October further exacerbates the uncertainty. This regulatory ambiguity, combined with ongoing whale activity, is likely to keep XRP volatile in the short term. Whether this represents a temporary correction or the beginning of a more significant downturn remains to be seen, depending heavily on the ability of XRP to hold its current support levels.