The past two weeks have been marked by significant volatility in XRP's price, keeping traders on high alert. The token dropped below $2 before experiencing a rapid recovery to $2.8 within days.
This price movement aligns with broader market trends, as the crypto market declined in February before rebounding in early March—a surge fueled by Donald Trump's remarks on cryptocurrency. On-chain data indicates that major XRP holders executed large sell-offs following the price spike.
XRP Surges Following Trump’s Crypto Announcement
On Sunday, March 2, Donald Trump’s unexpected statement provided a substantial boost to XRP. The former U.S. president proposed the establishment of a U.S. Crypto Strategic Reserve, including XRP, Bitcoin, Ethereum, Solana, and Cardano. The prospect of government-backed crypto reserves triggered a surge in global crypto purchasing activity, propelling XRP’s price up 30% intraday, nearing the $3.00 mark.
However, this rally was short-lived. A wave of sell orders hit the market a day after the announcement, leading to a 10% price decline. After reaching $2.8 during the Trump-driven surge, XRP retreated to the mid-$2 range by Tuesday.
Whale Investors Initiate Large-Scale Sell-Offs
On-chain data reveals that whale investors, who control significant portions of XRP’s supply, sold record amounts of the token following the rally. CryptoQuant data, analyzed by market researcher Miles Deutscher, highlights a major distribution phase, indicating that early investors have been offloading holdings at a historic rate.
Altcoin Distribution Phase and Whale Behavior
A distribution phase often follows a strong rally, where early investors take profits. XRP’s long-term holders accumulated the asset during its extended bear market, when the price remained below $0.50. The cryptocurrency then surged over 500%, rising from $0.55 in November 2024 to nearly $3 by January 2025.
Recent on-chain data confirms that whales have been selling for an extended period and continued to do so after the Trump-driven price spike. In early March, CryptoQuant recorded negative whale flows exceeding 180 million XRP, marking the largest outflows in years.
Rising Exchange Reserves Signal Increased Selling Pressure
Exchange data further supports the sell-off narrative. Binance’s XRP reserves increased from 2.72 billion to 2.90 billion tokens in recent days, indicating that more XRP is being deposited on trading platforms—typically a sign of selling pressure.
As the market digests these developments, traders will be watching closely to see whether XRP can sustain its recent gains or faces further downside due to continued whale sell-offs.
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