From Sunday, December 25, to the time of writing, XRP 'whales' have accumulated tokens worth $2.17 billion. This significant buying activity has sparked speculation that the price of XRP may be ready to reach new highs with only a few days left before the year ends.
However, amid the buying frenzy, on-chain data indicates that some cryptocurrency 'whales' are also selling. What does this imply for the price of XRP?
Large XRP Whales Buy More, Others Sell
According to Santiment, addresses holding between 1 million and 10 million XRP tokens have increased their total balance from 4.85 billion on December 15 to 4.95 billion today, reflecting an additional purchase of 100 million XRP over the past three days.
Meanwhile, wallets holding between 100 million and 1 billion XRP increased their holdings from 8.86 billion on Sunday to 9.63 billion, adding 870 million tokens.
With XRP priced at $2.50, these 'whales' have accumulated a total of $2.17 billion worth of the altcoin. This significant buying pressure is often seen as a bullish signal, suggesting potential breakout in the short term.
Whale XRP Accumulation. Source: Santiment
However, on-chain data from CryptoQuant indicates that the expected breakout may not happen quickly. This is mainly due to the flow of XRP from whales to the exchange.
The Whale Flow to the Exchange index tracks the movement of large holders transferring funds to or from centralized trading platforms, particularly Binance. A spike in this index signals a significant inflow of tokens to exchanges. Conversely, a decline indicates that whales are withdrawing assets – a signal that is often bullish.
Over the past three days, this index has increased from 2,243 to 3,585, indicating a larger flow of XRP tokens into exchanges. When compared to the accumulation data of whales, this suggests a mix of buying and selling among the whales. However, the volume of accumulated tokens seems to outweigh selling pressure. If this trend continues, the price of XRP may avoid the bullish trap.
Whale XRP Flow to the Exchange. Source: CryptoQuant
XRP Price Prediction: Bullish Flag Forms Again, Suggesting a Price Increase to $3.50
TinTucBitcoin's assessment of the daily chart for XRP/USD shows that this altcoin has formed a bullish flag. A bullish flag is a bullish pattern characterized by two price increases separated by a brief consolidation phase.
The pattern begins with a strong price increase, forming the 'flagpole' as buyers overwhelm sellers. It is then followed by a pullback, creating parallel upper and lower resistance levels resembling a flag.
As shown below, the price of XRP is on the verge of breaking through the upper resistance level of the flag. If successful, the altcoin could rise to $3.50 in the short term.
XRP Daily Analysis. Source: TradingView
However, if XRP whales decide to sell in large quantities, this trend could change. If the token also drops below the lower resistance level of the above pattern, a price drop to $1.98 could follow.