XRP Price Struggles Near $1 as Whale Buying Clashes With Weak ETF Demand

XRP has underperformed several major cryptocurrencies over the past month, falling more than 5% while Bitcoin, Ethereum, and Solana recorded modest gains. The XRP price is now hovering near $1, with conflicting on-chain and market signals clouding its near-term outlook.

XRP briefly slipped below the $1 mark earlier this week, its first move beneath that level since late 2024. Among the top 10 cryptocurrencies, only Hyperliquid posted a steeper monthly decline, while Dogecoin also traded lower.

Despite XRP's price weakness, large investors appear to be accumulating. Santiment data showed that the number of wallets holding at least 1 million XRP increased by 32 over the past three months, even as the token's market capitalization declined. The trend suggests major holders are taking advantage of lower prices rather than exiting their positions.

Exchange activity also points to reduced selling from long-term holders. CryptoOnchain reported that Binance XRP deposit addresses dropped roughly 96% compared with monthly and quarterly norms. Meanwhile, active XRP addresses averaged approximately 35,700 per day in August, up from 26,400 in July.

However, the bullish signals come with important caveats. New XRP address creation remained almost unchanged at around 2,260 daily in August, suggesting increased activity is primarily coming from existing users.

Trading data is also showing persistent selling pressure. Binance's XRP taker buy/sell ratio fell to roughly 0.86, its lowest level since May, while cumulative volume delta remained negative at approximately -4.15 million.

Institutional demand has weakened as well. Spot XRP ETFs recorded zero net flows for four consecutive sessions. Through August 12, monthly inflows totaled only about $1 million. Weekly inflows also plunged roughly 93%, falling from $14.86 million to $1.01 million.

XRP's next major price move may therefore depend on renewed institutional and trading demand. Stronger ETF inflows and a shift toward buying on Binance could reinforce whale accumulation. Until then, XRP remains caught between improving on-chain conviction and persistent market selling pressure.