In a notable development, the cryptocurrency community has witnessed the movement of a substantial amount of XRP, totalling 443,112,390, valued at over $254,799,709.
The transaction, detected by crypto transactions detention firm Whale Alert on Tuesday, involved an unknown entity sending itself the said coins to a newly established XRP wallet.
Upon further investigation, it was revealed that both the sender and receiver are affiliated with Netherlands based Bitvavo crypto exchange. Specifically, an XRP wallet associated with Bitvavo executed the significant transaction, sending the tokens to a new XRP address on January 16 at around 09:03 UTC. At press time, the 443.11 million XRP was still in the new wallet, sparking curiosity within the community about the motive behind this unusual movement.
Bitvavo has gained recognition for its persistent transfer of XRP assets between unlabeled destinations, with the last notable transaction of a similar magnitude occurring precisely three months ago. While the motive behind these movements remains unclear, the operation is speculated to be a security-enhancing measure for the assets involved. Notably, crypto exchanges such as Binance, Kucoin and others routinely shift of assets to new wallets to bolster their security.
Notably, this development comes on the heels of a foiled fraud attempt involving 25 billion XRP tokens moved in a single transaction on Sunday. As ZyCrypto reported, in this particular incident, Bitfinex was the targeted exchange, but the robust security measures implemented by the Bitfinex team successfully prevented this attempted scam.
Despite this security scare, XRP has been experiencing substantial wallet transfers this month, indicative of a burgeoning interest in the digital asset. Just last week, noteworthy movements were observed, with approximately 67.6 million XRP valued at around $39.05 million being sent to various wallets and exchanges. Among these transactions, 25.8 million XRP were sent to Bitstamp and another 19.8 million XRP to Bitso from a single address. Furthermore, an additional 22 million XRP made its way from Upbit to an undisclosed wallet, amplifying discussion surrounding XRP’s dynamic market behaviour.
These transactions, however, come amidst a subdued XRP price trend since November, despite notable strides in other cryptocurrencies like Solana, Ethereum and Bitcoin. Despite legal clarity after the SEC v. Ripple lawsuit, XRP has hovered around the $0.6 mark since November, prompting concerns among enthusiasts.
However, three compelling data-driven indicators suggest a potential $0.6 resistance level breakthrough. The first is XRP consistently maintaining positions above the 50-day and 100-day Exponential Moving Averages (EMAs), indicative of strong buyer interest. Additionally, the formation of a symmetrical triangle on XRP charts implies a forthcoming decisive move, with increased volume and a breakout potentially propelling XRP beyond the resistance level.