XRP whales accumulate 72M tokens while price defends $1

XRP traded at $1.01 on Aug. 14, near its 52-week low, while the XRP Ledger processed 2.6 million daily payments — a four-month high.

On-chain analyst Ali Martinez reported that wallets holding at least one million XRP accumulated more than 72 million tokens in 24 hours on Aug. 13-14, with Santiment data showing large-holder cohorts now sitting on combined positions of roughly 8.1 billion to 8.13 billion XRP.

Active addresses on the XRP Ledger climbed about 84 percent since the start of August, averaging 35,700 per day this month versus 26,400 in July. But roughly two-thirds of current volume stems from OfferCreate orders on the ledger's built-in decentralized exchange — internal liquidity management rather than a wave of new external users. New address creation stayed flat at about 2,260 daily, and 81 percent of Binance XRP withdrawals routed to private wallets.

The next milestone arrives Sept. 15, when the US Senate holds a procedural vote on the CLARITY Act. Until then, XRP faces key support at $0.87, with a larger decision zone at $0.77-$0.80 where a multi-year rising trendline converges. A break below those levels could accelerate downside; holding them with continued whale accumulation could set up a recovery toward $1.46-$2.37.

Whales Buy, Institutions Pull Back

CryptoQuant data supports the accumulation thesis: order sizes remain in whale territory while cumulative volume delta stays neutral, suggesting buyers are absorbing existing supply rather than aggressively bidding at any price. The number of wallets holding at least one million XRP has risen by 32 over the past three months to roughly 2,033.

Institutional demand tells a different story. Seven XRP spot ETFs currently trade in the US with about $1 billion in assets under management and cumulative net inflows of $1.51 billion since launch. But in the week through Aug. 8, weekly inflows collapsed 93 percent — from $14.86 million to just $1.01 million. The Bank of Montreal disclosed positions in XRP-linked ETPs in a securities filing on Aug. 12, managed through Stoker Ostler Wealth Advisors with a June 30 cutoff date.

Meanwhile, the Layer-1 chain Flare continues expanding what XRP holders can do with their tokens. On Aug. 14, the trading platform Derive began accepting FXRP as collateral for options and perpetual futures, allowing users to open positions directly from their wallets without routing through a centralized exchange. The FXRP supply, live on mainnet since September 2025, has grown to over 155 million tokens.

SEC Delays Tokenization Exemption

Traders had circled Aug. 14 expecting the SEC to rule on a sweeping exemption for tokenized securities. That expectation was dashed. According to journalist Eleanor Terrett, citing a person familiar with the matter, the SEC again postponed its planned exemption for tokenized innovations. The official agenda for the Aug. 14 commission meeting now lists only a proposal for a "tailored offering regime" for certain crypto investment contracts.

The likely reason: ongoing negotiations over Section 10505 of the CLARITY Act, which would govern how tokenized securities are regulated. The SEC appears reluctant to unveil its own framework while Congress is still hammering out details. In May, the SEC withdrew a similar proposal for broad approval of tokenized stock trading by US crypto firms.

The vote still carries weight for Ripple, which is pushing deeper into payments and tokenized settlement. Bloomberg reported the SEC will consider a tailored offering regime for certain crypto investment contracts — a framework whose eventual tokenization component would directly touch Ripple's payments and custody business. Stricter anti-money-laundering rules and a requirement that trading platforms register as US companies are reportedly on the table.

XRP sits roughly 70 percent below its August 2025 high of $3.35, with an RSI of 36.7 in oversold territory. Year-to-date, the token is down 45 percent; over twelve months, the decline reaches 67 percent. The 200-day moving average stands at $1.30, leaving XRP 22 percent below it.

The token recently slipped below the psychologically important $1 mark for the first time this year, though buyers have since defended that line. Crypto investor Diana sees $0.87 as the next major support, with $0.77-$0.80 as the larger decision zone where a multi-year rising trendline comes into play. If that support holds, her upside levels are $1.46, $1.57, $1.97, $2.37, and $3.56-$3.66 near the previous all-time high. The biggest hurdle before a larger recovery sits around $1.06, where nearly 3 billion XRP are reportedly near break-even.

The divergence between network usage and token price raises a fundamental question: which signal is the market getting wrong? Whale accumulation at current levels, combined with the Sept. 15 CLARITY Act vote, could determine whether this marks a genuine bottom or the start of a deeper correction. For now, the on-chain data points one way while the chart points another.

This article is for informational purposes only and does not constitute investment advice.