 
 
XRP’s early-January rally has been strong enough to earn the “new cryptocurrency darling” title in a CNBC segment after it outshone Bitcoin and Ether in the first week of 2026.
“The hottest crypto trade of the year is not Bitcoin, it is not Ether, it is XRP,” said CNBC’s Power Lunch host Brian Sullivan on Tuesday.
This comes as the fourth-largest token witnesses a notable resurgence in accumulation activity by whale entities, signaling a resurgence in institutional or large-scale investor confidence.
XRP Whale Activity Ticks Up
XRP whales appear to remain confident about the prospects of a mega rally, using the recent pullback to accumulate more tokens.
According to market intelligence platform Santiment, the XRP Ledger has witnessed a significant surge in whale transactions exceeding $100,000.
 
On Monday, the XRP network registered 2,170 whale transactions, and on Jan. 6, these transactions spiked to 2,802, marking a three-month high. Santiment suggested that this means volatility could be higher than usual.
An upsurge in large transactions could signal that whales are scooping up tokens in massive quantities, raising volatility and thus impacting prices.
Can Whale Accumulation Reignite XRP?
Given the psychological boost of renewed whale interest, market observers could be increasingly confident that XRP is primed to challenge and potentially surpass its current lifetime highs in the foreseeable future.
The increased whale activity has also been supported by steady institutional demand through U.S.-listed spot XRP ETFs. These products continued to take in net inflows into early January, before breaking what had been the cleanest inflow streak among major crypto-based funds on Wednesday.
XRP’s year-to-date return hovers around 14.6%, showcasing the cross-border token’s dominance. This strength is a result of the successful conclusion of the multi-year-long SEC vs. Ripple lawsuit and favorable regulatory developments.