The Crypto Basic

XRP is showing a subtle but important on-chain shift as large holders quietly return. 

While price action remains relatively muted, wallet data suggests confidence among long-term investors may be rebuilding.

According to Santiment, the number of XRP wallets holding at least 1 million tokens has started to rise again for the first time since September.

Key Points

• XRP millionaire wallets are rising again for the first time in four months, Santiment data shows.
• Large holders are accumulating despite XRP being down about 4% since 2026 began.
• The trend suggests quiet confidence as investors position during price consolidation.
• On-chain data hints at a potential rebound even as XRP price remains muted.

Millionaire XRP Wallets Finally Reverse the Downtrend

Santiment data shows that XRP “millionaire” wallets declined steadily between early October and the end of December, with roughly 784 large holders exiting during that period.

However, that trend has now changed.

Since January 1, a net of 42 new wallets holding 1 million XRP or more have been added back to the ledger. This marks the first sustained increase in four months and suggests that high-balance investors are slowly returning.

Historically, changes in large wallet counts are closely watched because they often reflect long-term positioning rather than short-term trading.

Price Weakness Fails to Scare Long-Term Holders

Despite this accumulation trend, XRP’s price performance has been modest. Santiment notes that XRP is down around 4% since the start of 2026, indicating that the renewed growth in large wallets is not driven by price hype.

This divergence between price and on-chain accumulation is often interpreted as a sign of quiet confidence. Instead of chasing momentum, larger holders appear to be positioning during consolidation.

Why This Metric Matters for XRP

Millionaire wallets are typically associated with institutions, funds, early adopters, or high-conviction investors.

According to the XRP Rich List, 1,995 wallets hold between 500,000 and 1 million XRP, with a collective balance of 2.69 billion XRP. Meanwhile, 1,359 addresses hold between 1 million and 5 million XRP.

Collectively, the XRP millionaire tier (1 million to 1 billion XRP holdings) comprises 2,021 wallets out of approximately 7.55 million XRP holders, representing less than 0.1% of all addresses.

As their numbers grow during periods of sideways or weak price action, it can imply expectations of future market developments rather than immediate gains.

While this data does not guarantee a price breakout, it strengthens the long-term narrative around XRP, especially as discussions around regulation, infrastructure, and institutional use cases continue.

Earlier Whale Accumulation

Earlier this month, Santiment data showed that XRP whale and retail wallets accumulated over $1.14 billion worth of XRP since the start of 2026. Most address tiers increased their holdings, but accumulation was strongest among retail wallets holding 0.01–0.1 XRP and whale wallets holding between 10 million and 1 billion XRP.

Together, these groups added about 570 million XRP, lifting their combined balance from 27.06 billion to 27.63 billion XRP.

Retail wallets led the surge, accumulating 260 million XRP worth roughly $520 million, while whale addresses added a combined 310 million XRP.

The accumulation accelerated as XRP rebounded nearly 31% this year and reclaimed the $2 price zone. However, XRP has since lost all of those gains.

With the renewed trend in millionaire wallets, it suggests a rebound could be on the horizon. For now, XRP’s price remains calm, but wallet data hints that confidence is quietly rebuilding.

The current XRP chart points to incoming volatility, with the possibility of a push to the upside or steeper declines to lower levels.

While XRP has continued to struggle over the past few weeks, the market appears to have stabilized. For instance, over the past 24 hours, the XRP price has traded within a narrow range of $1.87 to $1.94, now gravitating toward the lower end as it trades for $1.88 at press time.

However, while the price has stabilized lately, recent chart data points to a potential spike in volatility, which could negate the newfound stability, as XRP retests the resistance of a multi-week trendline that has guided its price action since Jan. 26. Whether this volatility leads to upswings or further declines remains unclear.

Key Points

• XRP recently found some stability after weeks of heightened price swings, which led to considerable losses.
• However, this period of stability could be short-lived, as market data points to a potential return of heightened volatility.
• XRP now retests the resistance around a multi-week trendline, and its reaction to this retest could lead to increased price swings either to the upside or downside.
• In its bull case, XRP would need to break above the $2.1 resistance, while the bear case would push prices toward the $1.80 support level.

XRP Looking to Stabilize After Tumultuous Period

This structure was identified by the analyst behind the Whale Factor X analytical account, who suggests that the newfound volatility may soon dry out. For context, XRP saw rapid price swings in what was a tumultuous period from Jan. 6 to 25. Within this period, it collapsed 25% from $2.41 to a low of $1.8088.

XRP immediately recovered from this floor, and has since stabilized around the upper end of the $1.8 mark, currently trading for $1.88. Since the recovery, XRP appears to have found some stability as the bulls and bears hit equilibrium, with the market awaiting a decisive push from either side.

Volatility Incoming

Interestingly, the Whale Factor analyst believes this push could play out sooner than most expect. He called attention to a multi-week descending trendline on the 6-hour chart that had stifled XRP’s growth prospect since Jan. 6. For context, this trendline emerged after XRP dropped from the $2.41 peak, leading to a sequence of lower highs. 

XRP eventually broke above the trendline this week, when it soared to a high of $1.94 on Monday. However, with the mild pullback from this high, it now appears to be retesting the trendline resistance. This is a natural reaction to a trendline breakout, as the market often triggers a pullback to retest the breakout for strength.

According to the Whale Factor analyst, what comes next after this retest is heightened volatility. Notably, whether XRP drops back below the trendline or establishes strength and recovers fully, the next direction could come with a spike in volatility to either side.

XRP Price Levels to Watch

Speaking further, the analyst pointed out two important areas investors should watch as the volatility looms. On the downside, XRP could find support around $1.8, which acted as an important cushion during the steep decline on Sunday, Jan. 25. This area has consistently hedged against lower drops since late 2025.

Meanwhile, on the upside, XRP could face resistance at the $2.1 mark, which capped the previous rally effort two weeks back. The analyst expects the breakout to lead to this level. However, if XRP manages to breach it, the next Fibonacci level of interest sits at $2.2, aligning with the 38.2% retracement.

Ripple has scored another major legal win in the U.S., with a federal class-action lawsuit against the company dismissed. 

The landmark ruling, issued this week, further reinforces XRP’s non-security status previously established in New York last year. Specifically, the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals upheld the dismissal of a California federal securities class action on January 27, formally closing the case against Ripple and XRP.

Key Points

• Ripple and XRP secure another major legal win in the United States.

• The Ninth Circuit dismissed a federal class action, rejecting the plaintiff’s arguments.

• The court emphasized that XRP has not changed in nature since its launch.

• Ripple is pushing for regulatory clarity, supporting the Market Clarity Act as the White House engages industry leaders.

Ninth Circuit Upholds Dismissal of Federal Class Action Against Ripple

The lawsuit, led by plaintiff Bradley Sostack, alleged that Ripple conducted an unregistered securities offering through XRP sales. Sostack claimed losses of about $118,100, arguing that Ripple’s statements created expectations of price appreciation.

The plaintiff also contended that Ripple’s three-year statute of repose should not apply because the company continued to sell XRP released from escrow.

However, the Ninth Circuit affirmed the district court’s ruling, noting that XRP was already publicly offered by 2013. According to the court, this triggered the statute of repose, which limits such claims to a three-year window. As a result, the plaintiff’s lawsuit was deemed six years too late.

Moreover, the court rejected claims that Ripple’s 2017 activities, such as escrow arrangements or renewed marketing, constituted a new or separate securities offering. The ruling emphasized that XRP has not changed in nature and remains the same asset it was at launch.

By affirming summary judgment, the Ninth Circuit has effectively closed the federal class action, removing a long-standing legal uncertainty in California courts regarding XRP.

Another Major Victory

This decision marks another major victory for Ripple and XRP after years of intense U.S. regulatory scrutiny. Both were previously locked in a five-year legal battle with the SEC in New York, which established XRP as a non-security and ruled that certain Ripple sales and distributions were not investment contracts.

Although the SEC case reached the appellate stage, both parties voluntarily withdrew the appeal after a new pro-crypto SEC administration took office.

Ripple Seeks Regulatory Clarity

After facing multiple legal battles, Ripple is now advocating for clearer regulation. CEO Brad Garlinghouse has backed the Market Clarity Act, urging the industry to choose clarity over chaos and work with policymakers to advance the bill.

However, with the Senate Banking Committee delaying the markup over disputed provisions, the White House has stepped in and scheduled a meeting with crypto and banking executives next week.

The XRP Ledger has officially moved the native XRP lending feature into the validator voting phase after launching XRPL version 3.1.0. 

Notably, the update brings onchain lending and borrowing directly into the network, which would allow users and institutions to access credit using XRP, RLUSD, and other issued assets without relying on external smart contracts.

The new protocol will include fixed-rate, fixed-term credit at the ledger level, using Single Asset Vaults to isolate risk and professional underwriting to replicate TradFi lending protocols. It seeks to attract yield for XRP holders and improve capital efficiency for institutions.

• Validators have begun voting on the native lending amendment, with all initially set to the default Nay positions as the process starts.
• The protocol will enable direct onchain lending and borrowing for XRP, RLUSD, and future assets without external smart contracts.
• It will rely on a fixed-term, fixed-rate credit feature to offer predictable institutional-style financing on the XRP Ledger.
• With this feature, market makers, payment firms, traders, and fintech lenders could see new funding tools for liquidity, payouts, and working capital.

Native XRP Lending Amendment up for Voting

Vet, an XRPL dUNL validator, shared the news on X, revealing that the latest software release brought in the long-anticipated lending amendment, dubbed XLS-66d, and opened it for approval.

Vet highlighted that the system supports fully native capital markets on the ledger and allows compliant borrowing and lending across multiple assets. He also noted that development efforts remain ongoing as the ecosystem prepares for broader adoption.

At the time of reporting, the amendment had just gone live for voting, with all 34 validators still set to their default negative position, which typically changes as voting progresses.

Testing and Cross-Chain Opportunities

Reacting to the development, Panos Mekra, CEO of Anodos Finance, said the community and developers must test the protocol before large-scale use. He suggested extensive experimentation, incentive-driven devnet competitions, and a user-friendly sandbox where participants can explore the system’s mechanics and identify issues early.

Meanwhile, speaking on how the native XRP lending protocol could affect Flare, which already runs third-party lending services using FXRP and Firelight, Vet suggested that both features could complement each other. Notably, Flare CEO Hugo Philion made similar accounts around smart contracts on the XRPL.

Vet explained that users could move FXRP from Flare back to the XRP Ledger for lending within vaults and later return it to Flare to seek additional yield, creating productive liquidity loops between the two networks. 

I think there are a lot of interesting synergies with Flare possible, you could bounce FXRP back to the XRPL into a vault for lending and then possibly back on Flare for more yield.

— Vet (@Vet_X0) January 28, 2026

How the Native XRP Lending Protocol Expands XRPL’s Role

For the uninitiated, the XRPL Lending Protocol will introduce fixed-term, fixed-rate credit directly at the network level, giving institutions access to predictable onchain financing. The system will rely on underwritten credit structures similar to traditional financial markets instead of volatile DeFi interest rates.

This protocol could push the XRPL beyond a payments-focused blockchain into a financial platform that supports capital efficiency, risk-managed credit, and institutional-grade lending. It could also open up new income opportunities for XRP holders by allowing them to lend assets into structured facilities.

Interestingly, the XLS-66d amendment embeds lending logic directly into the protocol, and this helps remove many of the risks tied to standalone smart contracts. The ledger itself now governs borrowing terms, repayments, and authorization.

Risk Control Measures

The protocol will operate through Single Asset Vaults, which separate liquidity by asset type. Each vault holds only one asset, such as XRP or RLUSD, and this prevents risk from spreading across pools. 

The amendment also employs risk controls similar to traditional finance. Specifically, underwriters will assess borrower creditworthiness using real-world financial data before issuing loans. 

In addition, pool administrators will also commit first-loss capital, which absorbs early defaults and protects lenders. Moreover, borrowers can operate within isolated vaults, so one failure does not impact unrelated participants. 

Also, every loan and repayment records directly on the ledger and gives institutions real-time transparency, simpler audits, and stronger compliance oversight.

Real-World Applications Could Drive Institutional Demand

The lending protocol could open up new funding options for market makers, payment service providers, trading firms, and fintech lenders. Notably, market makers can borrow XRP or RLUSD to finance inventory, run arbitrage strategies, and bolster liquidity without locking up their own capital.

Also, payment companies can borrow RLUSD for short periods to bridge settlement delays and offer instant merchant payouts across borders. Meanwhile, trading firms could gain predictable leverage for hedged strategies, while fintech lenders could use RLUSD to fund invoice financing and short-term working capital for small businesses.