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$XRP whale transactions have crashed 57% in the last few days, indicating a period of compression that could lead to large price swings.
Amid the $XRP price drop from $1.54 on May 14 to the current value of $1.35, market analyst Ali Martinez has called attention to a steady fall in large $XRP transactions worth at least $1 million.
Key Points
- $XRP has dropped to $1.35 after recording five consecutive intraday declines for the first time in two months.
- Amid the price correction, whale transactions worth $1 million and above have dropped to 67.
- This represents a 57% decline in whale transactions from the 157 high nine days ago.
- Analyst Martinez says the drop in whale activity could indicate a period of compression that may lead to large price swings.
- If $XRP surges above $1.5, it could target $1.8, but a drop below $1.29 could be bearish.
$XRP Seeing Reduced Whale Activity Amid Price Drop
Martinez revealed this trend in a recent post on X, citing data from Santiment. He noted that over the past 9 days, large whale transactions worth $1 million fell sharply from 157 to just 67 trades, which equals a 57.3% drop.
This sharp decline in whale activity matches $XRP’s price movement, suggesting that large investors have slowed down their participation as the price weakened.
$XRP Whale Transactions | Santiment
The drop in whale activity happened alongside $XRP’s decline from its $1.54 high on May 14 to levels below $1.40, showing sustained selling pressure. During this period, $XRP recorded five straight intraday losses from May 15 to May 19 for the first time in over two months.
Within those five days, the price fell by 8%, which weighed on investor confidence. As sentiment weakened, fewer large players stayed active in the market. This drop in confidence and participation explains why whale transactions also declined during this time.
$XRP in a Compression Phase Amid Whale Accumulation
Martinez stressed that the current situation represents a compression phase, where the slowdown in large transactions indicates that major investors have stepped back. Whales appear to be waiting while the price settles within a tighter range instead of pushing the market.
This kind of situation often leads to lower short-term volatility and allows the market to build stronger support and resistance levels. Such conditions typically come before a strong price move once the market decides on a direction.
However, despite the fewer large transactions overall, some whale groups have continued to buy $XRP during the dip. Wallets holding between 1 million and 10 million $XRP increased their total balance from 3.72 billion $XRP on May 12 to 3.79 billion $XRP, adding 70 million $XRP over this period.
$XRP Whale Accumulation | Santiment
Meanwhile, wallets holding between 100,000 and 1 million $XRP also added to their positions. Since May 16, their holdings grew from 6.31 billion $XRP to 6.33 billion $XRP, meaning they added 20 million $XRP. Nonetheless, this accumulation trend is not pronounced enough to impact the price.
$XRP’s Bollinger Band Squeeze
In an earlier analysis, Martinez mentioned a major technical pattern forming on the chart. He noted that $XRP was seeing its tightest Bollinger Band squeeze on the 3-day chart in over a year, which signals very low volatility.
$XRP is ready for a big price move!
I'm tracking the tightest Bollinger Band squeeze on the $XRP's 3-day chart in over a year. When volatility compresses this tightly, it’s a signal that a violent price expansion is approaching.
This current compression zone is a definitive… pic.twitter.com/TLBejKAl1D
— Ali Charts (@alicharts) May 18, 2026
Martinez identified the range between $1.50 and $1.29 as the most important area to watch and called it a “no-trade zone.” He advised traders to wait for a decisive move instead of trying to predict direction too early.
According to him, a 3-day candle close above $1.50 could push $XRP toward a target of $1.80. On the other hand, a close below $1.29 would weaken the bullish outlook and could send the price down toward the $1 psychological support level.
