XRP Price Prediction: Whales Scoop Over 120 Million XRP Amid Weak Derivatives

Highlights:

• The XRP price remains in a rectangle pattern, with bulls eyeing the $2.95 resistance. 
• Whales have scooped up over 120 million XRP in the past 72 hours, showing growing hype.
• The declining OI in the XRP market suggests low retail demand.

The XRP price is still oscillating between $2.83 support and $2.95 resistance. This short-term bullish outlook is mirrored by major altcoins, such as Bitcoin and Ethereum, which are trading in the green zone today. The XRP daily trading volume has soared 59% to $4.91 billion, indicating growing investor confidence. Over the past 72 hours, whales have acquired more than 120 million XRP, indicating growing market hype. As big-time investors receive the green light to buy, we can expect a significant surge in XRP in the near future.

XRP Futures Open Interest and Market Sentiment

Since the start of September, XRP holders have transferred considerable amounts of the cryptocurrency to exchanges, increasing reserves. Data sourced from CryptoQuant reveals a nearly 20% rise in Binance reserves from Sunday to 4 billion tokens. XRP’s price went from $3.18 on September 13 to about $2.70 on September 22.

Rising exchange reserves are often seen as a signal of future selling pressure. Investors usually send their assets to exchanges to sell them. The move indicates that the market is not confident that XRP will continue to rise. It is a good metric to keep an eye on. Continuous growth in exchange reserves typically indicates that headwinds are present before a sell-off.

On the other hand, since mid-July, retail interest in XRP has been suppressed as the correction began from the all-time high. According to data from CoinGlass, the futures Open Interest (OI), which references the notional value of all futures contracts, averaged $7.56 billion at press time on Monday after peaking at a record high of $10.94 billion on July 22. 

A declining OI indicates reduced market participation, as fewer traders hold positions in XRP futures. When lower participation occurs, less speculation takes place, which restricts price movement over the short term. The sentiment around the XRP price could stay negative as OI continues to fall. This is mainly the case if long positions continue to get liquidated. This would leave traders once again counting losses, as they did last week, when the price plummeted to $2.70.

Bulls Sight $3 Despite Declining OI

A quick look at the XRP daily chart timeframe reveals that the cross-border payment token is oscillating between $2.83 and $2.95, with resistance at these levels. In other words, the token has entered a consolidation phase, which may serve as an accumulation period before a rally.

If buyers can maintain the rising trend towards the important $2.95 mark, the path of least resistance will remain upwards. Additionally, this could heighten the chances of a breakout and target the all-time high of $3.66, reached on July 18th. 

The Relative Strength Index (RSI) is at 48.28, showing XRP trending firmly in the neutral territory. On the other hand, the Moving Average Convergence Divergence (MACD) shows a recent bearish crossover. This mix suggests that momentum is still alive, but a pullback may be imminent soon.

If XRP price stays above $2.95 resistance, the altcoin will be in good shape. However, if it falls below 2.83, it could drop to the $2.70 support area. However, if the trading volume stays strong, the price could rise to reach $3.00 and beyond.