Are the whales kicking off the next XRP bull run?
Despite the euphoria inside the crypto community over the settlement between Ripple Labs and the U.S. regulator SEC, XRP didn’t immediately surge.
Despite the euphoria inside the crypto community over the settlement between Ripple Labs and the U.S. regulator SEC, XRP didn’t immediately surge. Uncertainty in the financial markets, driven by the new trade war that Donald Trump has escalated, weighed heavily on sentiment. In the first half of April, XRP even dipped briefly below $1.80. But slowly and surely, the price of the second-largest crypto is starting to reflect the developments of the past weeks: Ripple is in a global growth spurt of major scale.
For the first time in two months, XRP is trading above $2.60 again. On a weekly basis, the coin is up 21%, leaving both Bitcoin and nearly all major altcoins in the dust. What’s sparking even more excitement is a historic price pattern suggesting this could be just the start of a new bull run that could push XRP to unprecedented highs. Whale transaction data resembles the situation in November 2024, when XRP exploded from $0.55 to $3.40 within weeks. That was a price jump of over 500%, even by crypto industry standards a rarity.
After breaking the $2 threshold last year, many whales sold their XRP positions, tempering mid-term price growth. Now that trend has reversed for the first time since November: whales are buying again. The 90-day moving average shows positive net inflow for the first time again. If history repeats, this buying could very well be the starting gun for a new XRP rally.
Ripple USD: internal competitor or strategic move?
Meanwhile, some investors eye the launch of Ripple USD (RLUSD), Ripple’s new stablecoin, with some suspicion. Could this mean the company is shifting focus from XRP to a steadier and potentially more profitable corner of the crypto market? Why use a volatile asset like XRP for payments when the same issuer also offers a dollar-pegged stablecoin?
Ripple president Monica Long reassures in an interview: “Within the XRP Ledger, XRP is the native asset. You need it for gas fees and for reserve accounts.” In other words: as more apps and users come to the network, demand for XRP grows. Ripple’s CTO David Schwartz also stressed recently: “If XRP loses market share to a stablecoin, we’d rather it be to our own Ripple stablecoin.” And even if XRP’s share drops from 7% to 6%, he says it’s hardly relevant if “the whole pie gets ten times bigger.” The takeaway: growth matters more than market share as long as Ripple is at the helm.
IPO not on the radar for now — but expansion-driven hunger grows
Despite solid financial results — including the $1.25 billion acquisition of prime broker Hidden Road — Ripple doesn’t see a need to go public yet. “We’re sitting on ample liquidity, with billions in cash on our balance sheet,” Long says. An IPO isn’t necessary this year; the focus is on further expansion.
That growth path recently took a hit when Circle, the issuer of the popular stablecoin USDC, rejected a $5 billion takeover bid. Had the deal gone through, it would have been the biggest acquisition in crypto history. Still, Ripple’s war chest looks well stocked — and insiders expect the next strategic move isn’t far away.
If U.S. regulators approve spot ETFs for XRP in the near term, a continued Ripple rally could be on the table. Especially now that whales are back on board.
