XRP Whales Continue Accumulating Despite Prolonged Downturn
Large XRP holders have continued to accumulate even during the prolonged downturn in price. On-chain data has shown that despite this buying, there's been no corresponding momentum. The average spot orders on exchanges have remained within CryptoQuant's 'big whale' price range for 2026, with prices ranging from $1.00 to $1.20. This is despite XRP's price dropping from around $2.40 at the beginning of the year.
The broad market participation has diminished, with the 90-day taker cumulative volume delta showing a neutral point after initial buyers' dominance earlier this year. Big money players are absorbing most of the supply, but demand doesn't appear strong enough to cement a breakout. Analysts view current activity as long-term consolidation rather than a new bullish trend.
Ethereum's price has dropped back down to around $1,900, still below its realized price of ~$2,450. This indicates most holders did not have a profit at the peak of their holdings. By comparison, Bitcoin's market price was 17% above its estimated realized price of $52,900, and XRP was above its estimated realized price of $0.75.
CryptoQuant has also revealed that Ethereum distribution across its largest wallets is changing. Wallets with between 10K and 100K ETH have been steadily amassing ETH, from 14 million ETH in mid-2025 to nearly 19.6 million ETH, a new all-time high. Addresses with over 100,000 ETH started to recover from their historical lows of 2025 (around 4.6 million ETH in May 2026).