XRP, Ripple, continues to be on the radar of investors due to ongoing speculation surrounding the Ripple-SEC case. Whale Alert, a platform that reports on movements in blockchains, announced in the early hours of the day that a crypto whale transferred 28.6 million XRP to a wallet address belonging to a cryptocurrency exchange. This transfer follows the attention-grabbing transfer of 75 million XRP that sparked speculation among market participants this week.
Crypto Whale Moves Approximately 29 Million XRP to Exchange
According to on-chain data, a crypto whale transferred approximately 28.6 million XRP, worth around $14.64 million, from an unknown wallet address to the cryptocurrency exchange Bitstamp. This transfer occurred after an anonymous source sent 100 million XRP to Ripple Labs over the weekend, and shortly after it was discovered that the transaction was associated with a wallet address linked to Canadian cryptocurrency exchange SideShift.
The transfer of 100 million XRP was followed by Ripple transferring 75 million XRP to one of its wallets and 46 million XRP to an unknown wallet address. These transactions indicate Ripple’s involvement in over-the-counter exchanges or direct asset redistribution. According to Bithomp, the company also transferred 30 million XRP from a Ripple wallet address to the Bitstamp exchange in another transaction.
Potential Impact of FOMC’s Interest Rate Decision on XRP’s Price
Despite the recent significant XRP transaction, which attracted attention and presented a potential sell signal, the price of the altcoin gained momentum, approaching $0.52. At the time of writing, XRP is trading at $0.5189, up 1.99%, with a daily trading volume surpassing $1 billion, an increase of 0.17%.
Recently, XRP came under scrutiny after legal representatives of Ripple criticized the New York State Department of Financial Services (NYDFS) for delisting XRP from its approved cryptocurrencies and stablecoins list. In addition, attorney John Deaton, representing XRP investors in the SEC case, hinted at an important announcement. Although the nature of this announcement remains uncertain, it sparked speculation in the market.
Furthermore, crypto investors are focused on today’s FOMC meeting and the interest rate decision. Experts predict that a rate hike decision, if made, would have an impact not only on the price of XRP but also on the entire cryptocurrency market. While the market is not expecting a rate hike from the Fed, any surprise decision has the potential to significantly affect market sensitivity.