Large XRP holders continue to build positions despite 2026 price struggles

XRP may have struggled on the price front this year, but large holders have continued to build their positions. Santiment reports that wallets holding 10 million to 100 million XRP have accumulated an additional 1.23 billion XRP since the beginning of 2026.

At the start of the year, large holders’ XRP holdings were 10.97 billion, and they’re now 12.2 billion, despite a 43% price slump. However, XRP whale accumulation has been irregular since the start of the year, although the buying began well before then.

In November 2025 alone, large holders expanded their supply by 2.4 billion XRP. 

10 million to 100 million XRP wallets achieved a new high in early July

At the moment, XRP’s current price puts the value of the 1.23 billion accumulated tokens at approximately $1.279 billion. At XRP’s previous record high of $3.66, those holdings would have been worth around $4.5 billion. 

Arguably, large holders had dialed back their purchases in December last year and stayed relatively quiet for several months before beginning a gradual accumulation trend in March 2026.

The accumulation continued into the summer, with the group’s holdings reaching a fresh peak of 12.27 billion XRP by July 8, 2026. However, some distributions slightly reduced the total to 12.2 billion. Despite the modest decline, that balance remains significantly higher than the 10.97 billion XRP held in January. 

However, some exchanges failed to see a surge in accumulation in the few months. By mid-July, whale transfers to Binance had fallen sharply, according to on-chain analyst Darkfost. Large holders transferred only 25.3 million XRP to the exchange, the smallest amount since January 2025. At their most active point, they moved as much as 583 million XRP, worth about $1.36 billion. 

Darkfost, at the time, noted, “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.”

Overall, more XRP addresses have joined the 10 million- to 100 million-holder group since January. At the beginning of 2026, the group consisted of 301 addresses. That number fell to 285 in February but later picked up steadily, reaching 322 in early July. However, it has since declined slightly to 313 and remains below the all-time high of 351. 

Some of the XRP whales did not buy in as much

While large holders of 10 million to 100 million have been on a buying spree, not all XRP whale groups have been accumulating. Those holding 100 million to 1 billion XRP have reduced their collective holdings from 8.43 billion XRP in January to 8.13 billion XRP currently, indicating that about 300 million tokens have been distributed this year. 

At the same time, the group of whales holding between 1 million and 10 million XRP has seen its balance rise by 260 million XRP. Though the increase is relatively modest, the group now controls 3.83 billion XRP.

Holdings among the 100,000-to-1 million XRP shark group have dipped slightly this year. Their collective balance has fallen from 6.43 billion XRP to 6.37 billion, a reduction of about 60 million XRP. 

What XRP whale accumulation means for the price

The growth in whale holdings suggests that some of the big XRP investors are taking a long-term view, despite the token’s poor performance. But accumulation does not necessarily translate to a quick price recovery. XRP would require broader market demand and sustained buying pressure to serve as a bullish catalyst.

The differing behavior among whale groups shows that XRP supply dynamics remain mixed. Wallets holding 10 million to 100 million XRP have increased their exposure, while larger holders have been reducing their balances. This suggests investors are positioning differently based on their wallet size, which could make whale activity, in general, an important metric to watch as XRP tries to recover further in price.

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