Whales Make a Spectacular Appearance in the Ocean
The price of Ripple’s cryptocurrency, XRP, reached a peak of $0.56 on February 15th. However, crypto whales who are looking to take advantage of its undervalued status could potentially trigger further bullish action.
Between February 9th and February 15th, all of the top 10 ranked cryptocurrencies experienced double-digit price gains. In contrast, XRP only saw a modest 8% increase during that same period. This unique market dynamic raises the question of how XRP bulls will respond in the coming days.
When compared to other top-ranked cryptocurrencies, XRP is considered undervalued. From January 23rd to February 15th, the crypto sector as a whole grew by 30%, adding $450 billion to the overall market capitalization. During this rally, coins like Bitcoin (BTC), Ethereum (ETH), Solana (SOL), and Avalanche (AVAX) led the way with double-digit percentage gains. XRP also experienced positive growth, with its price rising from $0.51 on February 9th to a monthly peak of $0.56 on February 15th. However, when compared to its competitors, XRP’s price performance appears to be lagging behind.
The chart above illustrates the price performance of the top 10 ranked cryptocurrencies from February 9th to February 15th. Bitcoin, Solana, Ethereum, and Avalanche all saw gains of 15% or more, while XRP had the lowest gains at 7.42% within the 7-day timeframe. This unique market dynamic could attract investor attention to XRP in the coming days.
Market data shows that XRP’s 8% weekly gain is the lowest among the top 10 ranked cryptocurrencies. Looking beyond the price charts, on-chain metrics reveal that whale investors are strategically taking advantage of XRP’s undervalued status. The chart below tracks real-time changes in whale wallets holding a minimum balance of 100 million XRP (~$50 million). It shows that the largest whale cohort held a total balance of 8.4 billion XRP at the beginning of the week on February 10th. However, the whales have rapidly acquired an additional 220 million coins in the last 5 days, bringing their balances to 6.62 billion XRP as of February 15th. With XRP currently trading at $0.55, these newly-acquired coins are worth approximately $121 million. When whales make such a significant capital inflow within a short period, it often indicates a strategic position for an upcoming price rally. The timing suggests that this group of bullish whales is looking to exploit XRP’s current undervalued status in anticipation of substantial profits when it catches up to the overall market trend. If retail investors also follow suit and mirror the bullish positions of the whales, it could accelerate XRP’s price rally in the coming days.
Analyzing the charts above, the top performers in the top 10 crypto asset rankings have gained an average of 15% this week. A further 7% increase from $0.55 to $0.60 would allow XRP to catch up to the market average. However, the Bollinger band technical indicator shows that XRP is facing significant resistance at the $0.57 20-day SMA (Simple Moving Average) in the weekly timeframe. Nevertheless, if the bullish whales continue to intensify their buying trends, it is likely that XRP’s price will break above this resistance level and rally towards $0.60 as predicted. On the other hand, if the bears take control and push XRP’s price below $0.45, it could invalidate this bullish forecast. The lower Bollinger band indicates that there is a strong support level at $0.49, which could pose a challenge for the bears.
In conclusion, XRP’s price performance has been relatively underwhelming compared to other top-ranked cryptocurrencies. However, the recent influx of XRP acquisitions by crypto whales suggests that they see potential in its undervalued status. If retail investors follow suit and adopt bullish positions, it could lead to an accelerated price rally for XRP in the coming days.
