XRP’s $1.16 recovery gets support from whales and a $285 million ETF streak

XRP’s recovery above $1.16 this week has coincided with a shift in the token’s supply picture, as large holders move fewer coins onto exchanges while US-listed exchange-traded funds continue to attract fresh capital.

The retreat in exchange-bound supply follows weeks of consolidation around $1, when weaker prices and limited spot demand kept XRP from sustaining repeated recovery attempts.

The change has eased one source of pressure but has yet to produce a decisive breakout. As of press time, XRP had surrendered part of Tuesday’s advance and was trading near $1.14, leaving the next stage of the recovery dependent on whether ETF demand and broader spot buying can absorb the remaining available supply.

XRP whales accumulate while exchange deposits plunge

XRP’s largest holders are adding to their positions while taking a growing share of tokens leaving exchanges, a combination that points to stronger conviction among whales as the cryptocurrency attempts to recover from its recent downturn.

Wallets holding between 100,000 and 100 million XRP increased their collective balances by 2.8% over the past five weeks, Santiment data show. At the other end of the market, wallets containing less than 0.01 XRP reduced their holdings by 5.2% during the same period.

The accumulation has coincided with a sharp change in how large holders are interacting with centralized exchanges.

Whales accounted for a record 77.8% of XRP outflows across centralized exchanges on July 22, up from 63% on May 6, CryptoQuant data show. Retail investors’ share fell to 22% from 36% over the same period, widening the gap between the two groups to nearly 56%.

A similar pattern is visible on Binance. Large holders represented 71% of XRP withdrawals on July 22, compared with 67% in early May, while retail’s share slipped to 28.7% from 32%.

The higher whale share across the broader centralized exchange market suggests the movement is not confined to Binance.

While the data do not reveal where the withdrawn XRP ultimately went, the increase in large-wallet balances provides separate evidence that whales have been accumulating during the same period.

At the same time, those holders are sending far less XRP onto Binance, reducing the amount being positioned on the exchange for potential trading.

Whale deposits to Binance have collapsed 96% to 25.3 million XRP from a previous peak of 583 million. The earlier inflow was worth roughly $1.36 billion at the time, compared with about $23 million for the latest reading.

The decline extends beyond a single trading session. The 90-day average value of whale inflows to Binance has fallen to about $69 million from $460 million in January 2025, while the latest daily reading is the lowest since that month.

Taken together, the data show whales increasing their XRP holdings and accounting for a greater share of tokens leaving exchanges while sending considerably less XRP onto Binance.

That behavior is consistent with large holders becoming less inclined to position their XRP for near-term trading as they increase their exposure to the token.

ETF inflows add demand as whale deposits fall

The decline in whale deposits is becoming more significant as XRP ETFs continue to bring fresh capital into the market.

US spot XRP funds have attracted about $12 million so far in July, putting them on course for a fourth consecutive month of net inflows. The products drew $81.59 million in April, $131.94 million in May and $59.46 million in June, bringing inflows over the four-month stretch to about $285 million.

Cumulative net inflows into the four funds have reached about $1.49 billion since their launch, while total assets have risen to roughly $1.06 billion.

The monthly totals remain modest compared with the flows routinely recorded by Bitcoin funds. Their persistence, however, gives XRP a recurring source of demand at a time when large holders are accumulating the token and sending substantially less of it onto Binance.

ETF subscriptions can require fund providers and their counterparties to source additional XRP exposure as new shares are created. Continued inflows therefore add a buyer to a market where one source of potential selling pressure has been receding.

That interaction is becoming increasingly important for XRP’s recovery. Falling whale deposits can reduce the amount of supply reaching Binance, but a sustained price advance still requires buyers willing to absorb the tokens available at higher prices.

ETF investors are providing part of that demand. Whether their purchases are large enough to help push XRP beyond the range that has held since June remains the next test.