XRP Whale & Shark Wallets Plunge 20.6% in Just 8 Weeks - What’s Next?

Big money is moving. A sharp 20.6% drop in major XRP holdings over eight weeks signals a potential sea change in investor sentiment.

The Great Distribution

Whales and sharks—the market's biggest players—are lightening their loads. That 20.6% figure isn't just a statistic; it's capital in motion. Are they taking profits, rotating into other assets, or simply hedging bets in a volatile macro climate? The sell-side pressure is real and concentrated.

Reading the Ripple Effect

This kind of exodus from key holder tiers often precedes a period of price discovery. With less supply locked in massive wallets, volatility can spike. It also opens the door for a broader, more decentralized holder base—a double-edged sword that can dampen wild swings but also slow momentum-driven rallies.

The Street's Take

Some see it as a healthy flush of weak hands; others warn of fading institutional confidence. Remember, in crypto, a 'long-term hold' often means until the next quarterly report hits the wires. The eight-week timeline suggests this isn't a knee-jerk reaction but a calculated strategic shift.

The ledger doesn't lie. When wallets holding millions start to drain, everyone should be watching where the flow goes next. Is this the calm before a storm, or just smart money doing what it does best—leaving the party right before the music stops?

XRP whales numbers go low, token accumulation in reverse trend

According to Santiment data, when XRP traded NEAR $2.85 three months ago, the number of 100 million-plus wallets was over 2,000, but their total holdings within this tier was around 47.7 billion coins. 

🐳 XRP Ledger is seeing a fascinating trend of whale & shark wallets shrinking in number, but continuing to grow in coins held. There are -20.6% less 100M+ $XRP wallets compared to 8 weeks ago, but they still own a 7-year high 48B coins collectively.

🔗 https://t.co/vvuvnoGOQJ pic.twitter.com/UKFTmUofmg

During XRP’s all-time high period in July, when the token clocked $3.65 during a mid-2025 market bull, large wallets were more than 2,700, but their holdings were dispersed and did not exhibit the same heavy concentration seen today.

Within the month of November, addresses holding between 1 million and 10 million XRP sold more than 2.20 billion XRP. The tokens offloaded in this period were valued at more than $4.11 billion based on market prices during the sell-off.

That said, the accumulation activity on the XRP ecosystem also surged following the debut of spot XRP ETFs in the United States. November 13’s Canary Capital spot ETF launch kickstarted a flurry of more funds trading in the West, which now includes Franklin Templeton, Bitwise, and Grayscale. 

The ETFs have already accumulated $756 million in net inflows and reached $723 million in total assets. Although ETFs may not outline how many whales contributed to the net inflows, the numbers can explain part of the redistribution among high-value wallet tiers as institutions continue widening their exposure.

XRP ledger processes 40,000 transactions, while reserves on Binance fall

In the final week of November, the XRP ledger (XRPL) processed more than 40,000 configuration transactions, which, according to blockchain analyst Vet, came from AccountSet and Automated Market Maker Bid transactions. 

AccountSet transactions modify permissions, multi-signature rules, or AMM preferences in operations where institutions prepare custodial accounts, adjust security protocols, or add liquidity for new financial products. The surge suggests institutions are reconfiguring infrastructure ahead of increased product FLOW for the ETFs.

Moreover, XRP reserves have been declining for nearly two months on the world’s largest volume exchange, Binance. Since October 6, approximately 300 million XRP have left the platform. 

According to CryptoQuant’s XRP Binance Reserves chart, the exchange now holds just above 2.7 billion XRP, the lowest level ever recorded since July 2024.

Price pullback takes the token 9% down in the week

While supply concentration tightens, XRP has been facing strong rejection in the past 30 days from the $2.50 resistance zone. The token has since rolled over again and is trading near $2.00, almost 10% below its weekly highs and 1.6% down in the last 24 hours.

Any retracement higher is expected to meet resistance between 2.2752 and 2.5808, a zone where sellers have been re-entering the market. According to several XRP enthusiasts, including commentator Egrag Crypto, only a decisive move above 2.5808 on strong volumes WOULD invalidate the current bearish structure.

“A Bullish Pennant is forming, and XRP is now trading above the 50 EMA. In 2021, the 50 EMA was brutal resistance. Today, it’s strong support. If BTC dominance peaks, XRP will surge,” the analyst surmised.

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