XRP Whales Accumulate Through the Selloff While Ether Signals Market Capitulation

CryptoQuant said large XRP spot transactions suggest “quiet accumulation” rather than a strong bullish breakout, while ether’s price trading below its realized value puts holders at a loss and gives ETH the strongest valuation argument among Bitcoin, Ethereum, and XRP.

Large XRP investors have continued accumulating despite the token’s decline from around $2.40 in January to its current range of $1.00 to $1.20. However, their buying activity has not yet translated into meaningful upward price movement.

Data from blockchain analytics firm CryptoQuant shows that average spot order sizes have remained within the range typically associated with major whale activity throughout 2026. Meanwhile, the 90-day taker cumulative volume delta — a measure of whether buyers or sellers are driving market activity — has moved back toward neutral after beginning the year with stronger buyer dominance.

In crypto markets, whales refer to entities holding large amounts of a token. Their actions are closely monitored because their accumulation or selling patterns can often influence broader market trends.

CryptoQuant described XRP’s current phase as a period of quiet absorption and price consolidation rather than a market capitulation event or confirmed breakout.

Ether currently presents the strongest valuation opportunity among the three major assets. ETH is trading near $1,900, compared with a realized price of approximately $2,450, indicating that the average cost basis of holders is above the current market price and many investors are sitting on unrealized losses.

By comparison, Bitcoin is trading about 17% above its realized price of roughly $52,900, while XRP is near $1.10 against a realized value around $0.75.

Ether’s ownership structure, however, is showing mixed signals. Wallets holding between 10,000 and 100,000 ETH have increased their holdings from about 14 million ETH in mid-2025 to record levels near 19.6 million ETH.

The largest whale group, holding more than 100,000 ETH, declined to around 2.6 million ETH in mid-2025 before recovering to approximately 4.6 million by May 2026. CryptoQuant estimates this group accumulated about 1.8 million ETH during that period.

Meanwhile, addresses holding between 1,000 and 10,000 ETH have moved in the opposite direction, falling from a January 2026 peak of around 15.6 million ETH to approximately 12.9 million.

Bitcoin whales, excluding exchange and mining-related wallets, reached a low near 2.87 million BTC in December 2025 and have since increased holdings to around 3.06 million BTC. Their strongest accumulation occurred as Bitcoin dropped below $60,000 in June, although holdings remain about 170,000 BTC below the 2025 cycle peak of roughly 3.23 million BTC.

CryptoQuant characterized the current market phase as the final stage of the downturn, while warning that valuations still leave room for another decline before a confirmed bottom forms.

The key factor to monitor is ether trading below its cost basis. Among Bitcoin, Ethereum, and XRP, ETH is the only asset where the market has already experienced a paper capitulation phase. CryptoQuant noted that ether reached a bottom in early 2025 under similar valuation conditions and at a comparable distance from its lower valuation range.