XRP holders face biggest unrealized losses since 2022

XRP holders face the pressure of the largest unrealized losses since 2022. As a result, whales have been holding off deposits to exchanges, waiting for more favorable times.

XRP holders are sitting on around 41% in unrealized losses, the biggest market drawdown since the crash of FTX in 2022.

According to Santiment data, average XRPL wallets in the past year are down over 41% on their investments. This ratio of mean value to realized value (MVRV) is comparable to the depth of the 2022 bear market.

XRP has gone through prolonged periods of sideways trading, while whales and retail held onto their assets. Currently, XRP holds at around $1.31, with some short-term rallies. XRP is still closely watched for an opportunity to buy low, as the token still has one of the biggest market shares among altcoins.

At the same time, Ripple’s XRPL network now carries a record 8.1M addresses, growing despite the stagnant performance of XRP. XRPL carries $403M in stablecoins and $45M in value locked in DeFi apps, lagging behind other major DeFi hubs.

XRP whale inflows to Binance slow down

XRP whales have slowed down their activity, contrary to their usual pattern of sending funds to exchanges during price rallies. In April, whale activity on Binance sank to its lowest levels for the year to date.

On the positive side, Binance only has to absorb 12.6M XRP in selling pressure, while other days saw hundreds of millions of XRP deposits.

In the past 30 days, cumulative inflows fell to 1.44B XRP, one of the lowest monthly levels for 2026. The decline in whale inflows shows a readiness to hold for the longer term, in this case, despite ongoing uncertainty and a weak altcoin market.

The Ripple community often remains untouched by general market trends, expecting positive developments from Ripple’s products.

Retail holders of XRP are also often willing to hold. Whales often use strategic selling to lock in gains. Most of the XRP whales are early adopters with legacy reserves, while retail has often bought XRP near the peak. Currently, there are a few factors to revive XRP, especially in a stagnant crypto market.

Ripple continues to expand its payments business

Ripple still focuses on its ability to generate P2P payments. In the past quarter, RLUSD supply still contracted, from over $1.5B down to $1.37B. 

The company still reported growth in the African digital asset market, with 52% year-on-year growth in payments. RLUSD is more widely used in collaboration with local fintech companies like Mercy Corps Ventures in Kenya. RLUSD is not as represented in the DeFi space, but serves as a P2P tool for multiple local payment services, including Chipper Cash, VALR, and Yellow Card.

Ripple also received investment grade rating for its Ripple Prime brokerage, expecting additional revenues and more clients for its institutional-grade service. Despite this, the XRP market price does not immediately reflect positive developments for Ripple. 

Still letting the bank keep the best part? Watch our free video on being your own bank.