- XRP was the most underperforming large-cap crypto over the last month.
- Addresses belonging to whale cohorts decreased steadily since the start of the year.
The broader market rally spurred a 5.42% increase in the price of Ripple [XRP] over the last 24 hours, reigniting hopes of a bounce above the stubborn $0.57 level.
As of this writing, the sixth-largest cryptocurrency was exchanging hands at $0.56, with previous attempts by bulls to breach the aforementioned barrier proving to be unsuccessful.
Source: CoinMarketCap
While time will tell whether the altcoin succeeds, the recent price action doesn’t evoke much optimism.
XRP disappoints investors
According to AMBCrypto’s scrutiny of market data from CoinMarketCap, XRP was the most underperforming large-cap crypto over the last month, with total gains of just over 4%.
In contrast, market barometers like Bitcoin [BTC] and Ethereum [ETH], along with leading alts Solana [SOL] and Binance Coin [BNB], recorded increases to the top of 20% at the same time.
XRP’s dwindling influence was also highlighted by crypto analyst Benjamin Cowen.
He noted how the payments-focused crypto’s dominance in the market dropped from over 31% in 2017 to just 1.48% as of February 2024.
Indeed, XRP lost nearly three-quarters of its market valuation since hitting a peak in January 2018.
The lawsuit initiated by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) along with the bear market of 2022 played a big role in the downfall.
While the legal victory in the case last year cheered XRP supporters, the story since then hasn’t been particularly encouraging.
Have whales given up on XRP?
According to AMBCrypto’s analysis of Santiment’s data, the percent of XRP supply in profit fell from nearly 90% in November 2023, to below 84% as of this writing.
Source: Santiment
Now, one would think that XRP whales might be utilizing the quiet phase to accumulate. However, that wasn’t the case.
Addresses belonging to key whale cohorts have steadily decreased since the beginning of the year, implying a lack of urgency to buy and HODL XRPs.
Source: Santiment
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Additionally, XRP whales had lower long exposure when compared to retail investors, as per AMBCrypto’s investigation of Hyblock Capital’s data.
This was a strong bearish signal because whales are regarded to have a better likelihood of being correct with their holdings, according to convention.
Source: Hyblock Capital