XRP rich list is showing steady growth despite the recent slump in the coin’s price just as most of the crypto market experienced a November downturn.

XRP sharks and whales increase holdings

According to blockchain Santiment Intelligence, XRP wallets holding at least 10,000 coins have grown to a total of 343,500, representing a 5.15% increase in 9 months.

Source: Santiment Intelligence 

Even more, the total number of XRP holders has experienced consistent growth in the past year, now reaching 8.66 million holders.

On the other hand, XRP price is down by about 30% in the last 7 weeks, and 18.75% in the past week. Factors contributing to this negative momentum include hotter-than-expected US inflation, tech and AI stock sell-off, and Democrats securing majority seats in both the House and Senate. 

It didn’t help that the recent Binance hack involved almost $300 million XRP, and that institutions have dumped about $18 million in XRP ETFs in the past two days.

Source: CoinMarketCap 

One key opinion leader and a former Ripple executive even admitted to halting his purchase of XRP, citing low risk tolerance as his reason for dumping more than 88% of his XRP holdings.

The price prediction verdict

When these metrics are placed side by side with the dipping price of XRP, we see what Santiment calls an “encouraging divergence”. It is historically a bullish sign when high-capital traders steadily absorb sell-side pressure rather than taking off with retailers.

The $1.00 price is now the key level to watch: should sharks and whales continue their accumulation trajectory while XRP holds above $1 and Bitcoin prices stabilize, XRP could reclaim $1.10 to $1.15.

On the flip side, the market could experience short-term sell pressure should wallet growth turn negative while XRP’s price falls below $1. That said, once retail FUD had subsided, prices might begin to recover and once again retest the $1.00 psychological support.