Ripple [$XRP] lingered just above the $1 mark, while traders remained divided over its August price direction. Despite this uncertainty, whales withdrew more $XRP from exchanges than any other holder group.
As retail traders and other market players remained on the sidelines, could whale accumulation push $XRP higher?
$XRP whale wallets up their buying activity
Daily outflows across the two largest exchanges, Binance and Coinbase, showed a clear accumulation.
For instance, whale wallets that moved over 1 million $XRP tokens from Binance accounted for over 55% of all withdrawals. Similarly, sharks who bought between 100K and 1 million $XRP accounted for 24.5%.
On Coinbase, sharks accounted for 55.8% of withdrawals, while whales represented another 15%.
The data from both exchanges showed large holders moved considerably more $XRP off exchanges than retail participants.
As a result, the Exchange Supply Ratio fell to 0.03, meaning less $XRP was available for immediate selling. That reduced potential sell-side pressure and helped $XRP remain above $1 after the $1.06 billion token unlock.
Traders remain divided on $XRP’s price direction for August
Despite the whale accumulation, traders on Kalshi remain divided about the altcoin’s direction this month.
The chances of $XRP rising above $1.10 were higher at 86%, while the odds of trading above $1.20 were 38%. However, 67% of Kalshi traders think that $XRP will be trading between $1 and $1.25 by the end of the year.
On the other hand, there was a 50% chance of falling below $1, and the odds of breaking below $0.90 were 11% in August. There was a 63% chance of having $0.75 as this year’s low.
The price action was in alignment with the bearish bets, with the weekly RSI Divergence hinting at selling. The altcoin was right above $1, with $0.95 as the closest area of interest. This scenario increases the odds of dropping below $0.90.
However, holding the top of the two-and-a-half-year range at $0.95 could weaken that bearish scenario. Such a defense could keep $XRP between $1 and $1.25.
Kalshi priced the probability of $XRP ending the year above $1.25 at around 39%.
Therefore, $XRP could remain below $1.25 despite whale accumulation, with prediction markets and price action favoring a wider range.
Final Summary
- $XRP whales accounted for more than 55% of Binance’s daily withdrawals, signaling continued accumulation.
- Kalshi traders largely expected $XRP to end 2026 between $1 and $1.25.