While Bitcoin (BTC) continues to break new all-time highs, there is one cryptocurrency that is making much bigger gains, but seems to remain in the shadows. XRP has currently the biggest winner out of the top 10 crypto assets, having surged 26% over the past week and nearly 9% in the last 24 hours.
During that time, the number of crypto wallets holding at least 1 million XRP tokens has reached an all-time high, coinciding with this week’s rally that saw the fourth-largest crypto by market cap close in on the $3 mark.
XRP Whale Wallet Numbers Hit ATH, and Open Interest is Closing on January’s $8.3 Billion Peak
In a report released on Friday, onchain analytics platform Santiment noted that not only are there more XRP whales than ever before, but the total supply of the tokens they hold has also been increasing. Sanitment added that XRP is also showing signs of strength, and the dual trend of strong price performance and increased holding is “very positive” for the asset. The data shows that crypto wallets holding at least 1 million tokens have risen to 2,743, and these whales are in control of 47.32 billion XRP, worth approximately $133 billion.
As per data from CoinGlass, open interest (OI) for the coin now stands at a monthly high of $7.2 billion. This has been the highest OI mark for XRP in nearly six months, bouncing back hard from a recent low of about $3 billion in April. The July figure is not far off from XRP’s all-time high OI of $8.3 billion from January.
OI represents the collective value of futures contracts that have not yet been settled by traders.
XRP has seen its price rise by 10% in the last 24 hours alone, resulting in more than $31.4 million worth of XRP short positions being liquidated. Despite the recent rally, the fourth-largest cryptocurrency is still 18% off its all-time high mark of $3.40 from 2018. It came just shy of matching its seven-year-old peak in January.
XRP is Riding the Trump Presidency Wave, and will be Part of the U.S. Digital Asset Stockpile
Ripple, the fintech behind XRP and XRPL blockchain, donated heavily to the pro-crypto super political action committee (PAC) that endorsed Donald Trump during the 2024 election cycle. The current U.S. President campaigned heavily on the promise to support the crypto space, and since taking back the White House, has delivered on them.
In his first week, President Trump signed an executive order titled “Strengthening American Leadership in Digital Finance Technology”, which aims to support the responsible growth and use of digital assets and blockchain technology across all sectors of the economy. It also included several key provisions, such as the protection of fundamental blockchain-based activities, including crypto self-custody, mining, and permissionless transactions.
Trump also established the President’s Working Group on Digital Assets Markets to identify and recommend regulatory and legislative proposals for digital assets. The group is chaired by David Sacks, the White House AI and Crypto Czar.
On March 6, the President issued another executive order establishing a Strategic Bitcoin Reserve and a U.S. Digital Asset Stockpile. The Strategic Bitcoin Reserve will be capitalized with Bitcoin held by the Treasury Department that was forfeited as part of criminal or civil forfeiture proceedings, and the Digital Asset Stockpile is set to hold XRP, Solana (SOL), Ethereum (ETH), and Cardano (ADA) that are also connected to criminal or civil forfeiture proceedings.
Altcoin Season Could Begin if Bitcoin Maintains Support Above $110K
XRP’s price had been consolidating for nearly 200 days within a range of $1.90 to $2.90, leaving many traders divided on its next direction. However, its latest rally is part of a broader market breakout, which saw BTC reach multiple all-time highs this week, hitting $112,000 on Wednesday, $116,500 on Thursday, and $118,780 on Friday. ETH, the second-largest cryptocurrency by market cap, experienced a 17.5% surge across the week to finally surpass the $3,000 mark.
While Bitcoin and XRP sit relatively close to their peak values, many other cryptocurrencies are still far off setting their own respective records.
Santiment analysts noted that these metrics indicate that the altcoin season has begun. They added that if Bitcoin can maintain its position above the crucial psychological support level of around $110,000, then traders are likely to feel comfortable and confident in redistributing their profits into altcoins, including XRP.
At the time of writing, XRP is trading at $2.80, up 8.15% in the last 24 hours.
GIPHY App Key not set. Please check settings