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$XRP whale and retail addresses have embarked on an accumulation spree, gulping over $1 billion worth of $XRP since the year began.
While most $XRP address tiers have increased their balances in 2026, the accumulation trend appears more pronounced with certain whale and retail addresses. Specifically, retail wallets holding 0.01 to 0.1 $XRP and whale wallets holding between 10 million and 1 billion $XRP have procured the largest amount of $XRP tokens.
These addresses have amassed over 570 million $XRP tokens, worth around $1.14 billion at current prices, since 2026 began. Interestingly, the tier of address holding between 0.01 and 0.1 $XRP, which represents the retail class, contributed the most to this figure, having procured 260 million $XRP worth over $520 million.
Key Data Points
- Most $XRP address tiers have continued to increase their holdings since 2026 began.
- Retail wallets holding 0.01 to 0.1 $XRP and whale wallets holding 10 million to 1 billion $XRP have led this campaign, having procured $1.14 billion in 2026.
- The retail address tier with balances ranging from 0.01 to 0.1 $XRP has contributed the most, with $520 million.
- This trend comes as $XRP recovers the $2 price region amid a broader market rebound push this year.
$XRP Whale and Retail Wallet Balances at Start of 2026
Data from Santiment confirms this accumulation campaign, which intensified earlier this year, as $XRP recovered by nearly 31% from its opening price. For context, at the start of the year, the retail (0.01 to 0.1 $XRP) and whale (10 million to 1 billion $XRP) addresses in question cumulatively held 27.06 billion $XRP.
Of this total, the retail wallets with balances ranging from 0.01 to 0.1 $XRP held 7.95 billion $XRP. Meanwhile, those with 10 million to 100 million $XRP had a cumulative balance of 10.98 billion, while the addresses holding between 100 million and 1 billion $XRP had 8.13 billion $XRP as their balance.
Retail Contributed the Most to the $1.14B Accumulation
Interestingly, while all their balances have increased since then, the retail addresses saw the largest spike. Specifically, the whales with 10 million to 100 million $XRP now have a balance of 11.17 billion tokens, representing an increase of 190 million $XRP. Those with 100 million to 1 billion tokens have seen their balance rise by 120 million $XRP to 8.25 billion $XRP.
At the same time, retail wallets with 0.01 to 0.1 $XRP now hold a balance of 8.21 billion $XRP, marking an increase of 260 million $XRP or $520 million since the start of the year. This is expected, as retail investors tend to respond better to rapid price surges such as what $XRP recorded from Jan. 1 to 6. Together, all addresses in question now hold 27.63 billion $XRP, representing an increase of 570 million $XRP ($1.14 billion) from their initial balance.