XRP experienced a notable rally on Thursday, jumping over 25% to reach $1.245, in a move that mirrors Bitcoin’s breakout past $72,000. The sharp price increase followed several weeks of growing accumulation by large XRP holders, commonly known as whales.
Whale accumulation intensifies
Onchain data from CryptoQuant confirmed that average spot order sizes for XRP have remained in the highest range throughout 2026, reflecting steady accumulation by big players. Crypto analyst Ali noted that, within a 96-hour period, whales acquired 300 million XRP tokens, characterizing the buying activity as “crazy.”
Santiment, an onchain analytics platform, observed a rise in millionaire wallets holding XRP. Over the last three months, the number of wallets holding at least $1 million in XRP increased by 32, underscoring renewed confidence among large holders.
Recent activity demonstrates that whales purchased 300 million XRP tokens within just four days, while millionaire-level XRP wallets have increased by 32 in three months, highlighting sustained interest from major investors.
This sustained whale activity coincided with increased trading momentum. From Wednesday’s low of $0.99, XRP’s price rallied to a peak of $1.245, marking a significant intraday gain. At the time of reporting, XRP had recorded a 22% daily increase to stand at $1.23, fostering optimism in the community.
ETH
SOL
BSC
ROBINHOOD
USDT
AAPL| Metric | Value | Change |
|---|---|---|
| Price (intraday high) | $1.245 | +25% |
| Current price | $1.23 | +22% (24h) |
| XRP open interest (Binance) | $461.3 million | 2-month high |
| Millionaire wallets | +32 wallets | Past 3 months |
Spike in activity and open interest
CryptoQuant also reported that XRP open interest on Binance soared to roughly $461.3 million this week, marking a two-month high and a clear uptick in derivatives trading activity. Increased open interest often signals heightened engagement from both institutional and high-volume retail traders in the derivatives market.
Santiment pointed out that last weekend brought the highest level of XRP network activity seen in more than two months. This surge follows a recent period when network activity neared its lowest point for 2026.
Across both spot and derivatives markets, XRP has seen a strong resurgence in volume and investor participation, with metrics returning to levels not observed since earlier in the year.
Institutional-grade credit debuts on XRPL
Momentum for XRP was further boosted by the introduction of institutional-grade credit to the XRP Ledger (XRPL). Cicada Partners announced the launch of a new credit initiative, leveraging infrastructure provided by Clearpool. This new pipeline is built on the XRPL Lending Protocol and the Single Asset Vault product.
Ripple, the global payments company behind the XRP Ledger, acts as a Liquidity Provider within this new credit fund, supplying capital along with other major institutional investors. The addition of these players aims to bring traditional credit opportunities and borrower pipelines directly to the XRPL ecosystem.
Mini dictionary: Cicada Partners – A financial technology firm specializing in digital credit and lending solutions for institutional markets. Clearpool – A decentralized credit marketplace that enables institutional borrowing and lending using blockchain protocols.
