While $XRP‘s price remains stuck in place, wearing down retail investors’ nerves, major players have pulled off a stealth maneuver. In just one week, they snapped up more than 380 million $XRP, increasing their combined balance to 8.13 billion coins.
Data from Santiment confirms that whales are literally building a wall of money to keep the price from falling below the key $1 mark.
Big money is clearly acting ahead of the curve after spotting a strong trigger on the charts, as analyst Ali Martinez pointed out that $XRP has formed a rare buy signal from the Tom DeMark (TD) Sequential indicator on the monthly timeframe.
3/5 Whales appear to be positioning for that possibility.
Over the past week, large holders have accumulated more than 380 million $XRP, an encouraging sign of conviction at current levels. pic.twitter.com/SRtgOiI2gh
— Ali Charts (@alicharts) August 9, 2026
This pattern is a rare sight, but it has been surprisingly accurate. Over the past six years, it predicted two of $XRP‘s biggest rallies: a 1,074% surge in April 2020 and a 973% increase in August 2022. When the indicator produced a sell signal in April 2025, traders exited in time before a 57% collapse.
The current whale buying proves that they are betting on history repeating itself.
$XRP supply squeeze meets regulatory gridlock at $1.06
However, buyers will have to dismantle a real barricade before $XRP can fully take off. The main battle will unfold at $1.06, as blockchain data shows that around 3 billion $XRP previously changed hands there.
If the coin closes August above this level, the bearish trend will officially be broken. Analysts estimate that this would open a clear path for $XRP toward $1.35 and then $1.64.
Whether this whale-driven momentum will hold depends on the broader market environment. On the one hand, Ripple itself supported the market, and during the scheduled release of 1 billion $XRP from escrow on Aug. 1, the company locked 700 million coins back in escrow.
On the other hand, the industry is being rattled by the postponement of the U.S. CLARITY Act until September and disputes surrounding the new Ripple Mint platform.
Against this nervous backdrop, the massive buying spree is keeping the price from falling below the psychological $1 floor and turning the $1.06 level into a launchpad for a potential breakout.
