XRP Whales Accumulate 642M Tokens as Ripple Expands Financing

Large XRP holders have accumulated more than 642 million tokens since the beginning of August, with buying activity intensifying as XRP trades near the psychologically important $1 level.

During the first week of August, wallets holding between 1 million and 10 million XRP purchased roughly 380 million tokens, lifting their combined holdings to 8.13 billion XRP. Whale accumulation continued later in the month, with investors adding another 72 million XRP on Aug. 13–14 and approximately 190 million tokens on Aug. 16–17.

The surge in XRP whale activity has also been reflected in on-chain data. The number of XRP Ledger transactions valued above $1 million increased 280% between Aug. 17 and Aug. 18, surpassing 38 transactions per day as active addresses climbed.

Meanwhile, Ripple is strengthening its financial position. Ripple Prime, the company's brokerage subsidiary, completed its first private placement of $275 million in unsecured bonds maturing in 2031. The bonds carry an 8.25% coupon and received a BBB investment-grade rating from KBRA, with Piper Sandler acting as lead underwriter.

Combined with a May financing agreement, Ripple has raised $475 million in debt financing over the past three months through infrastructure connected to Hidden Road, the brokerage firm Ripple acquired in 2025 for $1.25 billion.

Ripple is also expanding its Asian payments business through a partnership with South Korea's Jeonbuk Bank, which will introduce instant settlement capabilities using Ripple Payments.

Elsewhere, Ripple's RLUSD stablecoin recorded significant issuance and redemption activity. Over the past 30 days, $449.3 million in RLUSD was issued on the XRPL, while $448.9 million was burned, representing a roughly 99% burn rate. On Ethereum, $403 million was issued and $177.3 million burned. Total RLUSD supply currently stands at approximately $1.757 billion, distributed almost evenly across the two networks.

The combination of aggressive XRP whale accumulation, rising large transactions and Ripple's substantial debt financing suggests major market participants are maintaining exposure rather than preparing for widespread selling around the $1 price level.