XRP's Record Distribution Raises Selling Pressure Concerns

XRP's distribution reaches record levels as altcoin trades below $3

On March 2, XRP experienced a significant rally of 34.15%, following U.S. President Donald Trump's announcement that XRP would be included in a U.S. strategic crypto reserve alongside Solana (SOL) and Cardano (ADA). However, the altcoin retraced 50% of its rally on March 3, raising concerns about potential selling pressure from large XRP holders.

CryptoQuant founder Ki-Young Ju suggested that XRP whales may be cashing out, citing heightened activity between $2 and $3 over the past month. The volume bubble map indicated increased trading activity in this price range, which could be an indication of a distribution phase. From a technical perspective, a distribution phase occurs when major investors gradually sell off their holdings to lock in profits, typically near the peak of an uptrend.

Onchain analyst Maartunn confirmed that XRP is undergoing a distribution phase, noting that negative whale flows calculated with a 30-day moving average (30-DMA) reached an all-time low level. The analyst stated, "This metric shows the Whale Flow. They are offloading XRP like never seen before." Additionally, the XRP exchange reserves on Binance registered a sharp increase from 2.72 billion to 2.90 billion tokens, indicating higher selling pressure.

Despite the recent rally, XRP market analyst Dom noted that the altcoin failed to hold an all-time high value of the volume-weighted average price (VWAP) of $2.70. To sustain any future rally, it is crucial for XRP to hold a position above the $2.50 range. However, crypto investor Dami DeFi believed that XRP's high time frame (HTF) chart indicates higher high consolidation below key resistance and ascending trendline, suggesting that a break above this level could lead to further price discovery.

In contrast, cybersecurity engineer and Bitcoin proponent Matt C dismissed XRP's bullish behavior, identifying the formation of an inverse head and shoulder pattern for the altcoin. With the relative strength index (RSI) forming lower highs in XRP's 1-day chart, Matt C believed that the altcoin's current surge is "exit liquidity" for the masses.

As XRP's