Ripple's XRP has undergone a shift in its ownership structure, with whales re-emerging as the dominant influence on the asset. More than 68% of the XRP supply is now held by large-scale holders, the largest share since 2022. Whale supply share is a closely watched gauge of market structure, since holders with outsized balances can move liquidity with a single large order.

According to Santiment data, whales control 68.5% of the entire XRP supply, equivalent to more than 46 billion tokens (Santiment on X). The cohort of whales and other large-scale holders now owns more XRP than at any point since 2022.

For years, whales distributed their holdings, a pattern that coincided with a stagnant price. The renewed accumulation marks a reversal of that trend, and it comes as retail holders capitulate after years of flat price action.

Whale activity extended to trading in October, with an uptick in flows to Binance (CryptoQuant). At the same time, long-term accumulation continued, and whales abandoned their previous pattern of distributing tokens to retail buyers. Exchange inflows are typically read as potential selling pressure, since tokens deposited on trading venues are often positioned for sale — which is why whale-to-exchange flows serve as a key check on whether the accumulation trend holds.

XRP Recovers Above $1.30

Over the past day, XRP recovered alongside the broader market, rising to $1.33. Until recently, the asset struggled at lower levels even as whale accumulation showed signs of conviction.

According to Santiment analysis, a breakout above $1.30 may be a signal to regain the $1.50 level (Cryptopolitan). Whales have historically distributed XRP during rallies, with immediate shifts visible in exchange flows. For now, the accumulation narrative stands as one of the main conviction signals for the asset.

XRP trading volumes also recovered in October, hovering near the upper end of their range for the past three months. The asset has already been through short-term hype cycles and has been boosted by influencers. This time, the scale of whale accumulation raises the question of long-term conviction and a higher price range.

Open interest in XRP — the total value of outstanding derivatives contracts — is likewise near its highest range of the past three months, as derivatives traders attempt to benefit from an eventual breakout. Based on derivatives positioning, XRP is confined to a tight price range, with liquidity accumulating at $1.35 — a setup that could anticipate a rally to liquidate short positions (Coinglass). Liquidation heatmaps of this kind map the price levels where leveraged positions face forced closure, showing where stop-loss and margin-call activity clusters.

Currently, only 24% of traders are attempting to short XRP, which may make trading riskier for holders of long positions. On Hyperliquid, a decentralized derivatives platform, large holders are more bearish, holding 42% of positions short (Coinglass).

Will XRP and Ripple Become Part of Mainstream Finance?

The central question surrounding XRP remains its utility. At present, the asset trades on exchanges independently of Ripple's activity. As Cryptopolitan reported, Ripple recently launched a 24/7 trading platform with AI features, though XRP did not immediately react with price action. Separately, Ripple received final approval for National Trust Bank status from the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency, opening the door to further utility as financial infrastructure (Cryptopolitan).

Ripple also recently announced a wider partnership with the Robinhood app, featuring a key role for Ripple's dollar-pegged RLUSD stablecoin, access to Ripple Prime and Ripple Treasury, as well as other stablecoins and prime brokerage services.

Ripple's decentralized ledger, the XRP Ledger (XRPL), has also shown a sudden expansion in DeFi activity. As of October 28, the value locked on XRPL — a standard measure of capital deposited in decentralized finance protocols — had expanded exponentially to $338 million (DeFi Llama). Previously, the XRPL DeFi space locked only around $38 million in value, based on DeFi Llama data. XRPL had been left behind by other protocols and platforms due to limited app usage and competition from Ethereum and Solana.

Despite the rise in value locked, XRPL applications still produce limited fees, and XRP is not always linked to fees or incentives, unlike other platform tokens. There is still scope for XRP to serve as a key asset on XRPL if the ledger's DeFi sector revives and the platform establishes itself as a major settlement layer.

Ripple has made multiple attempts to integrate with the banking system, but the combination of XRPL and Robinhood usage is seen as more promising for mass adoption and for bringing retail traders back. As of October, retail sentiment toward XRP remains low, running counter to the direction of whales and influencers. The data points to monitor from here are whether Santiment's whale supply share keeps climbing, whether whale-to-exchange flows pick up during price strength as they did in October, and whether XRPL's locked value holds near its new levels.