XRP whale wallets rise despite market fear

The number of XRP wallets holding more than one million tokens has been steadily rising since the start of the year, signalling potential long-term strength despite weak broader crypto sentiment, according to Santiment.

Santiment said XRP’s price is down about 4% so far in 2026, but the count of so-called millionaire wallets has increased for the first time since September, with 42 large holders returning since Jan. 1.

“XRP's price is down a modest -4% since the start of 2026, but its amount of 'millionaire' wallets are rising for the first time since September,”

Santiment said.

At current prices of around $1.87, a wallet holding one million XRP is worth roughly $1.87 million, highlighting the scale of accumulation taking place, according to CoinMarketCap.

Accumulation by so-called smart money traders has also increased, with holdings up 11.55% over the past 30 days, according to on-chain data from Nansen.

Analysts remain divided on XRP’s near-term outlook, with some traders predicting a breakout above resistance while others warn price gains could become overly dependent on regulatory narratives.

Broader market indicators remain subdued, with the Crypto Fear & Greed Index in fear territory and Bitcoin continuing to outperform most altcoins, underscoring the cautious backdrop facing XRP.

At the time of reporting, XRP price was $1.88.