- Early investors got in at an average of $0.40.
- XRP price is down 36% this year.
- Bettors price high odds of XRP ETF approval.
Investors who bought XRP before its November price breakout are finally getting their payday.
Market data from Glassnode shows those early XRP buyers are cashing out after accumulating over 300% profits. The data shows holders exiting at a pace of $68.8 million in daily profits this month.
It’s a clear sign that XRP whales are offloading into thinning summer liquidity.
And XRP’s price performance this year might justify this strategy.
XRP hasn’t budged since the euphoric November rally that topped at $3.36 in January. What was once a frenzied uptrend has become a sluggish downward grind, with XRP down 36% this year.
XRP traded for $2.16 on Friday.
As the early cohort sell their holdings, those who bought near or at the top of the rally are left sitting on huge paper losses.
And the next big XRP price move seems uncertain.
Capital inflow into XRP dried up in the first quarter, but that has improved in the second quarter amid renewed speculative fervour in South Korea.
XRP options traders are hedging their bets amid renewed conflict in the Middle East. Market data show traders have piled into bets that XRP will fall below $2 this month.
To be sure, there are also scattered signs of institutional curiosity.
In June, companies like VivoPower and Webus announced plans to acquire XRP for their corporate balance sheet. VivoPower even took the experiment a step further by moving to earn yield on their XRP on the Flare Network.
The regulatory fog that clouded XRP might soon dissipate.
The Securities and Exchange Commission wants to settle its case against Ripple for alleged securities violations. But US Judge Analisa Torres hasn’t signed off on the settlement. Crypto lawyer John Deaton puts the chances of approval from the judge at 70%.
Meanwhile, Polymarket bettors have given XRP an 89% chance of an approved exchange-traded fund in 2025.
Osato Avan-Nomayo is our Nigeria-based DeFi correspondent. He covers DeFi and tech. Got a tip? Please contact him at osato@dlnews.com.
