Despite Moving 237M XRP, Price Remains Steady

Over the past 24 hours, Ripple's native crypto, XRP faced unusual on‐chain activity while its price remained relatively steady.

Over the past 24 hours, Ripple’s native crypto, XRP faced unusual on‐chain activity while its price remained relatively stable. Data from Whale Alert showed about 237.45 million coins moved between wallets in that period.

Despite this large shuffle, XRP price was trading around $2.4 as of this writing, roughly up by 4% on the day. The token’s market cap and trading volume have seen only modest changes, suggesting the massive whale-sized transfer alone did not trigger new momentum.

Ripple News: Whale Alert Transfer on X

Blockchain tracker Whale Alert’s feed showed that nearly 237 million XRP changed hands in the last 24 hours.

The move included several large chunks, but none were publicly annotated as exchange deposits or sales. Crypto observers immediately questioned whether this signaled a major buy or an internal shuffle.

Ripple’s own CTO, David Schwartz, later weighed in on X to clarify the situation. Schwartz wrote that this transaction was “almost certainly” a withdrawal of Ripple’s native crypto from an exchange, not evidence of a fresh bulk purchase. In other words, it likely reflects the movement of existing holdings, not a sudden influx of new demand.

The community has been vocal in response. Many users noted that such a large transfer left no visible impact on the asset’s market price. For example, crypto analyst DigitalG posted on X that a whale buying “more than a quarter of a billion XRP” without “so much as a flicker in unit price” suggests “this whole XRP market has a few fundamental issues.”

Another X user pointed out that repeated big transfers without price movement feel suspicious. Some discussions have even called the possibility of hidden order-book activity or liquidity bottlenecks “ridiculous.”

In general, traders and investors on social media are questioning why on-chain whale moves aren’t reflected in exchange prices. This has fueled talk of market opacity or manipulation, though no hard evidence has been presented.

Similar Large Transfers Had No Price Impact

This episode is not an outlier. Earlier in May, Ripple news saw other huge transfers that similarly failed to shake prices. Blockchain alerts reported two massive moves, one of 70 million coins and another of 300 million coins, in quick succession.

At the time, XRP price dipped only briefly (to about $2.12) and then recovered, essentially holding steady despite roughly $780 million worth of coins shifting wallets.

That muted price action was noted at the time: “the XRP price… has remained relatively stable during this period”. In short, even transfers of hundreds of millions of dollars in the coin have not caused sustained volatility this month.

Market analysts say this pattern is understandable. High-volume transfers alone do not guarantee immediate price moves.

In other words, large holders may be repositioning quietly without intending to dump or drive up the market. Analysts also caution that even bullish whale purchases may not translate into instant gains.

As one analyst put it, while whale buying suggests bullish intent, it “may not guarantee immediate price reversals”. This view is supported by data: exchanges often do not display the full depth of institutional orders, and actual price impact depends on counterparty demand.

In this case, the absence of a rally suggests that the on-chain transfer did not trigger large buy orders.

At press time, XRP traded at around around $2.41. CoinMarketCap reports it is up about 3.4% in 24 hours. The coin has gained slightly in recent days but remains well below its all-time highs. Trading volume is elevated on the news of