Despite Bitcoin Clocking a Fresh All-Time High Above $111,000, XRP Continues to Struggle to Reclaim Previous Highs

On-chain data shows that on May 21, a whale address moved nearly 250M XRP tokens from the Kraken exchange.

Bitcoin (BTC) has been performing impressively in recent times, finally breaching the $111,000 barrier after several attempts. However, despite this milestone, many altcoins, including XRP, are still struggling to recover previous highs.

In the last 24 hours, XRP price has seen a modest 3.6% gain, even as a 250M whale move failed to ignite a rally. This lackluster performance is in contrast to other top altcoins like Solana (SOL), Dogecoin (DOGE), and Cardano (ADA), which have seen triple-digit gains in the same period.

So, why is the price stalling, and what should traders expect next from XRP?

XRP Price Struggles Despite 250M Buying Spree

On-chain data shows that on May 21, a whale address moved nearly 250M XRP tokens from the Kraken exchange. In most cases, heavy accumulation by XRP whales often precedes notable gains in price as demand surges and the supply on exchanges drops.

However, this was not the case this time around. In the last 24 hours, Ripple price has fluctuated between a daily low of $2.33 and a daily high of $2.43. At press time, XRP has posted the least gains compared to other top altcoins like Solana, Dogecoin, and Cardano.

This outlook shows that this buying pressure was not adequate to fuel an XRP price rally, and this is due to multiple reasons.

Chart: View on CoinMarketCap

Whales, Overcrowded Long Positions Hinder XRP’s Rally

XRP’s price failed to move after the 250M whale move due to higher selling pressure than buying pressure, as whales rapidly dumped the token after it briefly crossed the $2.40 resistance level. Per Santiment data, whales holding between 10M and 100M dumped 100M tokens in the last 24 hours.

Additionally, long traders continue to get liquidated as rekt data from Coinglass shows that $3M longs were wiped out in the last 24 hours. This further added to the sell-side pressure from whales, causing the XRP price to stall despite the 250M purchase.

Data from Binance also shows overextended leverage towards XRP, and this is posing a mid-term risk of a price correction. The long/short accounts ratio on the exchange is at 3.12, showing that for every 1 short, there are 3 longs.

While the above data shows that the market is bullish, it also shows overcrowded long positions on Binance, and with traders already positioned for upside, there lacks new demand to support short-term rallies.

This setup also increases the risk towards XRP price if market makers, who usually go contrary to the market position, step in to sell and force the price down. This may force a reset to wipe out the high leverage and give room for the Ripple price to surge.

What to Expect from XRP Price

As Bitcoin drains liquidity from altcoins and XRP struggles with an overleveraged futures market and whale selling, the price is likely to drop to retest the $2.32 support. This drop may spark long liquidations that will push the price to $2.16, causing a reset that will kickstart a healthy uptrend to higher levels.

The RSI also needs to form a higher high to confirm bullish strength and support more gains for XRP’s price. Currently, the RSI is at 55 and tipping north, and if it sustains the upward trend, it may aid XRP’s breakout from consolidation and fuel a rally to $2.61.

Therefore, XRP’s failure to move after the nearly 250M buying spree is because of inadequate buy-side pressure to counter selling pressure from whales and long liquidations. The overleveraged long positions may also deter new buyers, causing the XRP price rally to stall.