Following a prolonged period of quiet trading across the broader cryptocurrency market in July and August, Ripple's XRP experienced a double-digit price surge, reaching a monthly peak of $1.14 before retracing slightly to $1.10.
Several underlying market metrics preceded and accompanied the price movement. Earlier in the week, whale activity increased significantly as transactions exceeding $1 million jumped by 280% within a single day, reaching nearly 40 transactions compared to about 10 during the previous two days. Additionally, wallets holding between 10 million and 100 million XRP accumulated approximately 72 million tokens over a 24-hour period.
Exchange data also showed a reduction in available supply on major platforms. Between June and mid-August, more than 240 million XRP were withdrawn from Binance, Upbit, and Coinbase, lowering their combined reserves from roughly 5.36 billion to 5.12 billion tokens. Network activity similarly grew, with the XRP Ledger recording nearly 50,000 active addresses within a 24-hour window, marking a two-month high.
In the derivatives market, open interest climbed to $2.7 billion earlier in the week. While 75% of positions were marked as long, trading flow reflected bearish sentiment with $375 million in 24-hour short volume compared to $304 million in long volume. Market analysts noted that the recent open interest buildup resembles trends observed in November 2024 rather than the failed leverage spikes seen between 2022 and 2024.
