Whales keep selling XRP despite ETF success — Data signals deeper weakness

XRP ETFs have crossed $1 billion in assets under management and have yet to record a single day of net outflows since launch. 

Under normal market conditions, sustained ETF inflows of this magnitude would help stabilize price or even fuel a recovery. Instead, XRP continues to post lower highs and lower lows — and new on-chain data shows why.

Analysis from CryptoQuant indicates that whales are sending large volumes of XRP to Binance, creating persistent sell-side pressure that has outweighed the ETF bid throughout December.

XRP whales dominate exchange inflows — not retail

The XRP Ledger inflow-value band chart shows that almost all recent inflows to Binance originate from the 100K–1M XRP and 1M+ XRP cohorts. 

These are not retail wallets; they are whales and high-net-worth entities preparing liquidity for selling.

Each time these value bands spike, price reacts the same way:

• a lower high forms
• followed by a lower low
• confirming that excess supply continues to overwhelm the market

Whales are not dumping aggressively in a single event, but the steady drip of supply has been enough to keep XRP sliding. Without a new influx of spot buyers, the market has struggled to absorb this activity.

ETF inflows show strength — but they are not offsetting whale supply

Data from SoSoValue shows that XRP spot ETFs have now accumulated over $1.14 billion in assets and registered zero days of outflows since launch. 

Cumulative inflows remain firmly positive, and daily inflow behavior has been stable, even during market drawdowns.

This presents a contradiction: ETF demand is rising, yet price is falling.

The most plausible explanation aligns with CryptoQuant’s analysis. Whales accumulated XRP ahead of the ETF approval, expecting a speculative rally, then sold the narrative back to retail once the approval event arrived. 

This created a pocket of persistent supply that ETF inflows alone could not counter.

Every attempt by XRP to reclaim the $1.95 zone has been rejected by renewed whale-led inflows to exchanges.

Key support levels to watch

Based on inflow intensity and the XRP price structure:

• $1.82–$1.87 → first major support
• $1.50–$1.66 → deeper support range if inflows continue rising

Price briefly stabilized near $1.82 in early December, but subsequent whale inflows forced another leg down.

Until on-chain data shows a decline in large inflows, the odds of a sustained rally remain limited.

XRP ETF momentum is real — but the market needs spot buyers

XRP ETFs offer a clear indication of institutional interest, and the absence of outflows suggests that investors are not withdrawing capital from the product. 

However, ETF demand alone cannot reverse a market where large holders continually increase their active supply.

The market will need:

• A reduction in whale exchange inflows
• A shift in value bands toward accumulation
• A stronger bid from new spot buyers

Until then, XRP remains vulnerable to further downside despite the strong ETF momentum.

Final Thoughts

• ETF inflows remain strong, but whale-driven supply continues to push XRP lower.
• A bullish reversal requires declining large inflows, not just ETF demand.