XRP whales move 720M tokens as breakout target emerges above $1.30

XRP's 720 million token whale transfer and $1.8 billion in OTC accumulation signal large players are positioning ahead of a potential breakout from a multi-month consolidation pattern.

XRP rose 3.2% to $1.21 as blockchain data showed whale-class holders moved 720 million tokens — worth about $864 million — in a single 24-hour period, the largest such transfer in three months. The move comes as on-chain analytics reveal sustained accumulation by sophisticated market participants.

"Whales have accumulated more than $1.8 billion worth of XRP through over-the-counter channels to avoid moving spot markets," analyst Hailey LUNC said, citing Arkham Intelligence data. OTC transactions allow institutional buyers to build positions without triggering the price impact that exchange-based purchases would cause.

The accumulation coincides with a symmetrical triangle pattern identified by analyst Ali Martinez, which targets a 14% upside to $1.38. XRP briefly touched $1.29 over the weekend before retreating, fulfilling the pattern's initial objective but failing to sustain momentum. Trading volume contracted 44% in the past 24 hours to $1.62 billion, according to CoinGecko, signaling hesitant buying conviction at current levels.

The $1.18 level represents the immediate downside risk — a break below that would confirm a head-and-shoulders pattern with a path toward $1.10 and potentially below $1. A clean move above the $1.30 resistance band, however, could ignite a run toward the $1.80 swing level that longer-term technical frameworks are watching. The 7-day moving average for XRP's exchange net position change has turned increasingly negative over the past three weeks, indicating tokens are leaving centralized wallets — a pattern historically associated with accumulation.

Whale Activity and Multi-Cycle Formation

Analyst EGRAG CRYPTO has tracked a long-duration "big yellow triangle" formation on XRP's macro chart, interpreting the current price behavior as multi-cycle consolidation resembling patterns observed before historical rallies of 8,000% and 1,900%. Within this framework, conditional targets include $6.50, $13, and $60 — scenario-based projections dependent on specific liquidity environments rather than definitive forecasts.

The Flutterwave deal adds a fundamental layer to the technical setup. Ripple's strategic investment in Flutterwave's Series E round positions RLUSD — a $1.6 billion market cap stablecoin ranked 10th globally — as the settlement spine for African payments infrastructure. Sub-Saharan on-chain flows topped $205 billion over the past 12 months, according to Ripple's Reece Merrick, who said the investment "will establish RLUSD within that infrastructure, with Flutterwave driving stablecoin flows over the XRPL."

Key Levels to Watch

Binance's estimated XRP leverage ratio has declined roughly 78% from mid-2025 highs, reducing the risk of violent liquidation cascades. Spot XRP ETF inflows have registered predominantly positive this month, though demand concentration was observed primarily on South Korean exchange Upbit without widespread participation across other venues.

For swing traders, several analysts recommend treating any bounce toward the $1.35 to $1.44 range as a potential distribution opportunity, with downside targets below $1.05 if the $1.18 support fails. The 21Shares research team assigns a 30% probability to XRP reaching $2.69 by 2026, with a base case near $2.45 contingent on ETF inflows and utility traction.

XRP's market capitalization stands at $74.64 billion as of the latest data.

This article is for informational purposes only and does not constitute investment advice.