XRP News Today: XRP hits $3 as $6B whale sell-off signals bearish shift

XRP briefly climbed back above the $2.95–$3 range amid bullish price action, drawing attention from both retail and institutional investors. However, the price surge has been overshadowed by a wave of selling pressure from large holders, commonly referred to as “whales.” Data from CryptoQuant indicates that the 90-day whale flow moving average has turned sharply negative, a pattern that had previously been observed in early 2025 and is often associated with a distribution phase [1]. This suggests that large investors are actively offloading their positions, which can signal the end of a bullish cycle and the start of a consolidation or bearish phase.

According to AMBCrypto, wallets holding between 1 million and 1 billion XRP tokens reduced their combined holdings from 10 billion to 8 billion, amounting to a $6 billion sell-off. This activity, led by whale investors, is intensifying downward pressure on the asset and raising concerns among market participants [1]. Popular crypto analyst Ali Martinez pointed out that this large-scale offloading is not a short-term anomaly but part of a broader trend of profit-taking by major players [1].

Further evidence of bearish sentiment comes from the 30DMA of whale-to-exchange flow, which has shown a sharp uptick since January 2025. This metric indicates that a significant volume of XRP has been moved to exchanges, likely in preparation for further sales [1]. Even after a recent price retracement from a $3.65 all-time high, the 30DMA has not begun to recede, reinforcing the idea that the market is still in a distribution phase rather than an accumulation phase. For a meaningful recovery to begin, analysts suggest that whale netflows would need to turn consistently positive, a sign that institutional and high-net-worth investors are once again building positions.

On a more positive note, the decline in XRP reserves on major exchanges, particularly on Binance, suggests that retail investors may be stepping in to buy the dip. Binance’s XRP reserve dropped from 3.009 billion to 2.88 billion tokens in a short period, indicating an outflow from the exchange. While this could be interpreted as accumulation by long-term holders, the broader whale activity remains bearish, and a sustained reversal in netflows is still some way off [1].

The current market dynamics highlight a tug-of-war between bulls and bears. While the price remains near a key psychological level, the underlying whale activity paints a less optimistic picture. Investors are being advised to remain cautious and wait for clearer signs of accumulation before expecting a sustained upward move. For now, the market is in a consolidation phase, and those with long-term conviction in XRP may see the current pullback as an opportunity to accumulate at more favorable levels, provided the fundamentals of the asset remain stable [1].

Source: [1] XRP climbs to $3 – But $6B whale sell off raises red flags! (https://ambcrypto.com/xrp-climbs-to-3-but-6b-whale-sell-off-raises-red-flags/)