XRP whales added to their holdings throughout a steep recent decline, according to observations shared by market analyst Ali Martinez, even as a wave of selling pushed the token sharply lower.

The latest downturn began on Thursday, November 5. From a local peak of $1.32 recorded that day, XRP slid 18% over the following four days. Ethereum, by comparison, fell 13.2% in the same window despite bearing the heaviest rout in the derivatives markets over the past 24 hours, with $497.85 million in liquidations — the forced closure of leveraged positions when the market moves against a trader.

Whale accumulation during the decline

In a post on X, Ali Martinez reported that XRP whales maintained their buying pressure as the price dropped below $1.30. In the five days leading up to November 8, whale wallets accumulated 16.46 million tokens. Wallets of this size are tracked closely because their trades are large enough to move a token's price on their own.

During this period, the token was testing the lower boundary of a descending channel on the 4-hour chart — a pattern of lower highs and lower lows that reflects sustained downward pressure. In recent hours, however, the price failed to hold the channel's $1.14–$1.16 floor. Intense selling pressure and bearish market sentiment drove the price down to $1.08 at the time of writing.

Largest single-day Binance inflows since 2024

Separately, crypto analyst Darkfost reported that whale inflows of XRP to Binance reached their largest single-day level since 2024, totaling 691 million XRP, or roughly $900 million. That figure surpassed the daily inflows recorded during February's capitulation event, when Bitcoin fell below $60,000 and XRP dropped to $1.11.

The broader trend of whale inflows has been accelerating. The 90-day average of inflows measured more than $100 million per day, the highest level in six months.

Exchange inflows do not by themselves confirm selling, since some deposits may reflect Binance's own efforts to replenish its XRP reserves. The two datasets also measure different behavior — Martinez's figures track wallets adding to their holdings, while Darkfost's track tokens being deposited onto a trading venue — which is why accumulation and rising inflows can coincide. Still, the report noted that the growing supply sitting on the exchange signals an increased potential for sell-side pressure.

Support levels systematically cleared

Levels where XRP buyers might have been expected to defend the price have been steadily erased by relentless selling. The most prominent was $1.25, which had held as support since mid-September before giving way in late October. November's selling pushed the token below even the 78.6% retracement level at $1.139, a Fibonacci-based charting reference for how much of a prior move has been given back.

When a decline extends beyond the points where buyers were expected to step in, swing traders and investors would want to stop buying and remain cautious.

Key level for the recovery thesis

XRP has fallen below the flow of its 4-hour descending channel, and rising whale inflows have dented the buy-the-dip thesis amid the sustained selling. At the time of writing, the $0.986 swing low from August remained the pivotal level needed to keep the idea of an eventual recovery intact. The inflow trend is the other datapoint to watch: whether the 90-day average holds above $100 million per day will indicate whether large holders continue shifting supply onto exchanges.