XRP has faced significant headwinds on the price front throughout 2026, yet large holders have persisted in expanding their positions. According to on-chain analytics platform Santiment, wallets holding between 10 million and 100 million XRP have added approximately 1.23 billion tokens since the start of the year. Whale accumulation during sustained price drawdowns is a pattern that on-chain analysts frequently track as a signal of conviction among larger, presumably more sophisticated, market participants — though such trends do not uniformly lead to price recoveries.

These holdings stood at 10.97 billion XRP in January and have since risen to 12.2 billion, even as the token's price declined 43% over the same period. The buying trend extends back further — in November 2025 alone, large holders increased their supply by 2.4 billion XRP.

At current prices, the 1.23 billion newly accumulated tokens are valued at approximately $1.279 billion. For comparison, at XRP's previous all-time high of $3.66, the same holdings would have been worth roughly $4.5 billion.

Mid-Sized Whale Tier Reaches New High in Early July

Large holders scaled back purchases in December 2025 and remained relatively inactive for several months before resuming a gradual accumulation trend in March 2026. This trend continued through the summer, with the group's combined holdings reaching a fresh peak of 12.27 billion XRP on July 8, 2026. Subsequent distributions slightly reduced the total to 12.2 billion, though this figure remains well above the January baseline of 10.97 billion.

Meanwhile, whale transfers to Binance declined sharply by mid-July, according to on-chain analyst Darkfost. Large holders moved only 25.3 million XRP to the exchange — the lowest level since January 2025. At peak activity, the same group had transferred as much as 583 million XRP, worth approximately $1.36 billion. In on-chain analysis, exchange inflows from large holders are commonly interpreted as a proxy for potential selling pressure, since tokens moved to centralized exchanges are often positioned for liquidity or disposal rather than long-term custody.

"This marks an essential first stage, the exhaustion of the largest XRP sellers on Binance, while price consolidates around $1 since June. This offers some relief for the price, which will now need a return of genuinely sustained demand to trigger a durable bullish move." — Darkfost (X post)

The number of addresses within the 10 million to 100 million XRP tier has also shifted. At the beginning of 2026, the group comprised 301 addresses. That figure dropped to 285 in February before recovering steadily to 322 by early July. It has since eased slightly to 313, remaining below the all-time high of 351.

Not All Whale Groups Are Accumulating

While the 10 million to 100 million XRP cohort has been on a buying spree, other large holder categories show divergent behavior. Wallets holding between 100 million and 1 billion XRP have reduced their collective balance from 8.43 billion in January to 8.13 billion, distributing approximately 300 million tokens this year.

Conversely, the 1 million to 10 million XRP group has increased its holdings by 260 million XRP, bringing its total to 3.83 billion. The 100,000 to 1 million XRP "shark" tier saw a modest decline, with balances falling from 6.43 billion to 6.37 billion — a reduction of approximately 60 million tokens.

Mixed Supply Dynamics as XRP Trades Above $1

The growth in whale holdings suggests that some large investors maintain a long-term outlook despite the token's underperformance in 2026. However, the differing behavior across wallet tiers indicates that XRP supply dynamics remain mixed. The 10 million to 100 million XRP group has increased exposure, while the largest holders have been trimming positions. Such cross-tier divergence complicates the interpretive picture: mid-tier accumulation can coexist with distribution by the largest wallets, making the net supply trajectory less clear-cut than single-cohort data might suggest.

XRP currently trades above $1, having declined approximately 6% over the past month while gaining 10% relative to other major altcoins. Ethereum is up 10% over the same period, and BNB is up 5%. Some analysts project a potential further decline of up to 35% in the coming months, which could push the token below the $1 threshold.