- Whales are spending big on XRP.
- SEC may hold the cards for an XRP price rally.
- Crypto bettors don’t expect any short-term price surge.
XRP whales have acquired $464 million worth of the Ripple-linked cryptocurrency this week, data from crypto analytics platform Santiment shows.
It’s the second biggest wave of XRP buying activity this month after whales piled over $700 million earlier in March.
The buying spree didn’t trigger an XRP surge, but market observers say price catalysts are on the horizon.
“If the SEC drops its appeal against Ripple and an XRP ETF is approved, prices may revisit previous highs or even reach new levels,” Osama Bari, chief technology officer at business payment provider D24 Fintech Group, said.
The Securities and Exchange Commission’s crackdown on Ripple, which designed the cryptocurrency to facilitate cross-border payments, has weighed on XRP’s price.
Investors seem to be betting the cryptocurrency’s price will run free if the agency steps aside.
These expectations have been bolstered by sweeping regulatory changes under US President Donald Trump.
The SEC has already paused or discontinued several high-profile enforcement actions initiated against crypto companies including Consensys and Uniswap Labs.
And Ripple could be next.
Meanwhile, the SEC is also considering five XRP exchange-traded fund applications. Those filings are among a raft of altcoin ETFs under review.
The SEC has until mid-October to rule on them.
JPMorgan predicts that XRP ETFs could pull in $8 billion in investor flows within a year.
Still, market participants aren’t expecting XRP’s price to surge in the near term.
The chances of XRP reaching a new all-time high in the year’s first half have plummeted from 90% to 29% on Polymarket from earlier this month.
On Monday, bettors on Polymarket gave XRP’s price a 42% chance of hitting an all-time high in 2025, up from 24% on Sunday.
Crypto market movers
- Bitcoin is up 0.2% over the past 24 hours to trade at $83,153.
- Ethereum is down 1% over the same period to trade at about $1,906.
What we’re reading
- Trump’s crypto embrace ‘sowing the seeds’ of a financial crisis, says Bank of France chief ― DL News
- What you missed this week — Milk Road
- Binance.US Execs Blindsided by Report of Trump Family Investment: Source ― Unchained
- Are we entering a bear market?— Milk Road
- Texas teen gang charged in crypto robbery of Twitch streaming star ― DL News
Osato Avan-Nomayo is our Nigeria-based DeFi correspondent. He covers DeFi and tech. Got a tip? Please contact him at osato@dlnews.com.