cryptoglobe.com
Whale activity for the native token of the $XRP Ledger, $XRP, has hit a new all-time high after the token’s price exploded upward over the past month, allowing the cryptocurrency to become the third-largest digital asset by market capitalization.
According to CryptoCompare data, the price of $XRP is up more than 440% over the last 30-day period, as the cryptocurrency moved from around $0.5 per token to now stand at $2.74, marching toward its all-time high above $3.3 seen back in 2018.
$XRP’s stellar month can be traced back to multiple catalysts. First, Donald Trump’s recent victory in the 2024 U.S. presidential election has bolstered expectations of a pro-crypto administration.
Investors are also eagerly anticipating the departure of U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) Chair Gary Gensler, expected on 20 January 2025, which could lead to a more favorable regulatory environment for cryptocurrencies.
The price of $XRP also surged after several firms filed to list a spot $XRP exchange-traded fund (ETF) in the country, the latest one being WisdomTree, which joined Bitwise, 21Shares, and Canary Capital in the race.
The SEC has yet to greenlight a spot $XRP ETF, and the regulator has been in a legal battle with a major player in the $XRP sector, Ripple, since 2020. The SEC has accused Ripple of raising $1.3 billion through $XRP sales, deeming the token an unregistered security.
A significant legal victory for Ripple came in July 2023 when Judge Analisa Torres ruled that certain programmatic sales of $XRP did not constitute securities transactions. However, the judge determined that direct sales to institutional investors were indeed securities offerings.
Data from CryptoQuant notably suggests that $XRP whales are playing a major role in the cryptocurrency’s price surge, as their activity has hit a new all-time high.
Notably, CryptoQuant analyst Woominkyu recently pointed out that historically, significant spikes in whale-to-exchange $XRP transactions “align closely with $XRP price peaks.” A spike in these transactions recently occurred, pointing to a peak around the $2.3 mark and indicating whales could be “preparing for potential profit-taking or increased market activity.”
Featured image via Pixabay.