XRP Whales Are Back: $1M Transactions Surge 280% as Price Trades at 73% Discount

Whale activity on the XRP Ledger has surged as XRP price continues to trade at a $1 discount, with large transactions hitting their highest levels in recent weeks.

On X, market watcher Ali Martinez highlighted that XRP whale activity has exploded over the past 24 hours. Citing data from Santiment, he noted the number of XRP transactions worth more than $1 million surged 280%, climbing from 9.90 to more than 38 large transactions.

When a user asked why whales were returning, Martinez pointed to XRP’s steep decline from its previous all-time high.

“XRP is trading at a discount,” Martinez said, adding that the coin is currently about 73% below its all-time high.

Price Remains Deeply Below Its Peak

XRP is trading at around $0.9998 at press time. The token has declined 3.29% over the past week, 8.22% over the past month, and roughly 47% year to date.

The decline is even more pronounced against XRP’s July 2025 peak of about $3.66. At current prices, XRP remains about 73% below that high.

The sharp discount may be attracting larger investors even as overall market sentiment surrounding XRP remains weak.

XRP Ledger Activity Sends a Different Signal

The surge in whale transactions comes as Santiment has highlighted rising activity on the XRP Ledger despite the price weakness.

On August 14, Santiment reported that XRP-related negativity had reached a three-month bearish extreme across X, Reddit, Telegram, and other crypto communities.

However, the on-chain picture was considerably stronger. The analytics platform recorded 49,929 active addresses in a single 24-hour period, marking XRP Ledger’s highest activity level in more than two months. 

Santiment described the divergence between negative sentiment and rising network participation as a potential bullish counter-signal.

With XRP’s market value falling back below $1, retail sentiment remains weak. Yet increased on-chain participation suggests that existing users and investors are becoming more active at lower prices.

Existing XRP Holders Are Driving Activity

Santiment previously noted on August 13 that XRP’s on-chain activity had increased even as the token closed at its lowest level since November 2024.

Average daily active addresses reached approximately 35,700 in August, compared with about 26,400 in July, representing an increase of roughly one-third.

However, the data does not indicate a major influx of new users. New addresses averaged around 2,260 per day in August, almost unchanged from approximately 2,270 in July.

Key Signal

In sum, the latest 280% increase in $1 million-plus transactions adds to the divergent XRP market picture. While price performance and retail sentiment remain weak, network activity and large-value transactions are moving higher.

The current situation suggests whales are capitalizing on low prices before the next bullish phase.