XRP has experienced a turbulent stretch recently. As the token tumbled from $1.34 to $1.15, retail confidence was rattled. However, while smaller investors pulled back, a different group quietly moved into the market.
Crypto analyst Ali Martinez (@alicharts) shared data indicating that whale wallets scooped up more than 16.46 million XRP throughout that five-day slide.
His post featured a bar chart from Santiment tracking the total XRP held in whale wallets between November 4 and November 7. Holdings climbed steadily during this period, increasing from roughly 6.32 billion tokens to 6.35 billion. “Price is falling. Whales are buying,” he wrote.
XRP WHALES ARE BUYING THE DIP
While $XRP dropped from $1.34 to $1.15, large entities went on a buying spree.
Over the past five days, whales accumulated more than 16.46 million XRP.
Price is falling. Whales are buying. https://t.co/PFoUqYsIo9 pic.twitter.com/R5ndv2LtuF
— Ali Charts (@alicharts) November 7, 2026
The Midterm Election Sell-Off
This price decline connects directly to the U.S. midterm elections held on November 3. Democrats swept both chambers of Congress, defeating Republican candidates in crucial races, which included surprise victories in Texas. Consequently, crypto markets reacted with uncertainty.
XRP had already shed 16% of its value in October and entered November facing downward pressure, sitting below key technical resistance at $1.50. The Democratic sweep compounded regulatory concerns on top of an already weak setup. Investors grew anxious that crypto-friendly legislation might stall under a Democrat-controlled Congress.
Meanwhile, the CLARITY Act—a bill aimed at establishing a clear regulatory structure for digital assets—had already failed to advance in the Senate. The midterm results cast fresh doubts on its future path, heavily impacting sentiment surrounding XRP. Currently, XRP trades at $1.16, marking a 7.52% drop from the previous week.
Whale Accumulation and What it Signals
Whale behavior during price declines is notably significant. When large holders accumulate as prices fall, it typically demonstrates confidence in the asset’s underlying value at those levels. Furthermore, the Santiment data highlighted by Martinez illustrates steady buying across five consecutive days rather than an isolated spike.
Additionally, the count of wallets holding at least 1 million XRP reached a 2026 high during this stretch, with 28 new large holders emerging in just a 10-day span. Whale holdings jumped from 2.35 billion to 2.63 billion XRP between November 3 and November 5.
Reinforcing this trend, tokens have been moving off exchanges and into storage. This shift usually signifies that holders intend to retain their assets rather than sell them.
A Setup for Recovery
XRP has found it difficult to reclaim $1.30, a threshold it lost prior to the election. A daily close back above that mark would indicate a momentum shift. Although whale accumulation during a price drop does not guarantee an immediate rebound,
it does demonstrate that large, well-informed participants perceive genuine value at these prices. That factor alone establishes a foundation for the current market structure that raw price action alone fails to capture.
Frequently Asked Questions
How much XRP did whales accumulate during the recent price drop?
Whale wallets gathered more than 16.46 million XRP over a five-day slide as the token dropped from $1.34 to $1.15.
What caused the recent downward pressure on XRP?
The price decline was directly tied to the U.S. midterm elections on November 3—where Democrats swept both chambers of Congress—as well as existing regulatory concerns and the stalled progress of the CLARITY Act.
How did whale holdings change between November 3 and November 5?
During this period, whale holdings increased from 2.35 billion to 2.63 billion XRP, while the number of wallets holding at least 1 million tokens reached a 2026 high with 28 new large holders entering in 10 days.
What is the current trading price of XRP?
XRP is currently trading at $1.16, which is down 7.52% from the previous week.
Explained in this article
Cryptocurrency
A digital currency secured by cryptography and recorded on a blockchain, without a central bank issuing it.
Crypto prices are volatile, and governments are still deciding how to regulate it.
More about Cryptocurrency




