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XRP Price Approaches $0.52 Amidst Investor Confidence Boost
On February 8, the price of XRP came close to reaching the $0.52 mark as investors regained confidence in the cryptocurrency. This positive sentiment follows the negative reaction to the $120 million hack on Chris Larsen’s wallet, the co-founder of Ripple Labs, on January 31.
On-chain data trends indicate that whale investors in Ripple’s XRP Ledger ecosystem are now feeling more confident due to the response from exchanges and law enforcement agencies regarding the hack. As the rebound phase begins, there is speculation about whether the XRP price can reach $0.60.
After the news broke about the unauthorized access to Chris Larsen’s wallet, the price of XRP dropped by 12% between January 30 and February 3, hitting a 50-day low of $0.48. This led to many large investors closing or reducing their positions due to increased Fear, Uncertainty, and Doubt (FUD) in the market. However, recent on-chain data suggests that these whales have regained confidence.
According to Santiment’s chart, there were 1,986 wallets holding at least 1 million XRP (~$500,000) as of January 29. When news of the hack broke, 29 of these wallets quickly closed or reduced their positions, resulting in a 30-day low of 1,957 whale wallets on February 3.
Notably, Binance CEO Richard Teng announced that $4.2 million linked to the hack had been seized, and Ripple Labs confirmed ongoing investigations in collaboration with law enforcement agencies to recover the funds. These positive developments have helped ease concerns and restore confidence. The uptrend in the red trendline indicates that 17 whales have reentered the ecosystem between February 3 and February 7, bringing the number of large holder wallets to 1,974 at the time of writing.
The increase in the number of XRP whale wallets following a major market event can be seen as a bullish signal. It suggests that large investors have assessed the hack and believe it is unlikely to compromise the network’s security architecture as initially feared.
Santiment’s balance of addresses confirms this stance, showing that the whales have started to make significant inflows since the funds seizure was confirmed on February 1 by the Binance CEO. These inflows, valued at $15 million based on the 7-day simple moving average price of $0.50, indicate growing conviction among institutional or experienced investors that XRP’s price will appreciate in the near future. This bullish position could also influence retail investors to follow suit.
If this scenario unfolds as expected, XRP’s price could enter a rebound phase, potentially testing the $0.60 area in the coming days.
However, it’s worth noting that there is a significant sell-wall around $0.55, as indicated by the upper Bollinger band technical indicator. If the bulls can surpass this hurdle, a breakout above $0.60 becomes a possibility. Conversely, if the bears can force a downswing below $0.45, it could negate this bullish forecast. Nevertheless, based on recent trends, the bulls are likely to provide strong support around the $0.49 area, as shown by the lower Bollinger band line.
In conclusion, the XRP price has experienced a boost in investor confidence, leading to a potential rebound phase. While there are resistance levels to overcome, there is optimism that XRP could reach $0.60 in the near future.
