XRP whales have kept accumulating, perhaps in anticipation for a favorable development in the Ripple-SEC case.
Crypto market intelligence platform Santiment has found that XRP Ledger (XRPL), a decentralized public blockchain that enables fast, low-cost, real-time transfers of XRP, fiat currencies, and digital assets, has been seeing less whale activity in 2023 compared to the last two years.
In a post on X, the crypto analytics platform said that despite declining activity, whales and sharks have continued accumulating more of the XRP supply.
XRP Accumulation Continues as XRPL Whale Activity Declines
Santiment disclosed that wallets holding between 100,000 and 100 million XRP have increased their coins from $7.16 billion a year ago to $7.89 billion. These whales and sharks collectively hold 26.8% of the 53.39 billion XRP in circulation.
On the other hand, the XRP Ledger is averaging around 3,800 whale transactions worth $100,000 and above per week.
Santiment’s disclosures come as American business magazine Forbes predicts that a U.S. economic downturn could benefit the crypto industry, with the prices of assets like bitcoin (BTC), XRP, and ether (ETH) reaching new highs.
Forbes believes the U.S. dollar may collapse for several reasons, including the U.S. debt ceiling saga and the mass printing of fiat initiated by the Federal Reserve. Amid the chaos, XRP may soar to new peaks, continuing the trajectory it has set in the past few weeks.
XRP Sees Enhanced Volatility
Following Ripple Labs’ first partial court win against the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) in July, XRP soared by roughly 70%, almost hitting the $1 mark. Since then, the asset has experienced enhanced volatility due to frequent developments around Ripple’s legal tussle with the SEC.
When presiding Judge Analisa Torres denied the SEC’s motion to appeal a court decision in its case against Ripple on October 3, XRP rose again by 5%, covering a little ground after the gains for the first win had been erased.
While the outcome of the case remains to be seen, the legal battle between the agency and the blockchain firm will stretch into the second quarter of 2024. As time goes on, XRP’s price and activities on the XRPL will be influenced by activities that take place in the court.