The price of XRP has returned to the critical $2 level after several failed attempts to break through due to market uncertainty.
Each attempt to break above the short-term resistance has faced selling pressure, pulling the altcoin back down to this psychological floor.
XRP holders, fierce tug-of-war
Whales have started to sell a significant amount they hold. Over the past 7 days, wallets that held between 1 million and 10 million XRP have sold more than 390 million XRP, worth over $783 million at the current price.
This level of distribution shows clear frustration among high-value holders. They expected a stronger recovery. However, such selling has a significant impact on market sentiment, especially when triggered by groups that greatly affect liquidity.
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Despite the distribution by whales, long-term holders are resisting selling pressure. HODL Waves data shows that the share of XRP supply held by the group holding for 1 to 2 years has increased from 8.58% to 9.81% over the past week.
This indicates that holders who acquired XRP less than a year ago have chosen to hold onto their tokens despite volatility. This stability helps keep the XRP price more steadily around $2, mitigating the impact of whale selling.
XRP is trading at $2.00 at the time of writing. This is an important psychological and technical support level. The price movements over the past few days have repeatedly returned to this point, confirming its significance in maintaining the market structure.
Due to the opposing pressures of whale selling and long-term holder accumulation, XRP is likely to stay between $2.00 and $2.20. It will continue until a clear directional catalyst emerges. A change in sentiment or improved market conditions will be necessary to break this consolidation pattern.
However, if bearish momentum strengthens and whale selling accelerates, XRP could fall through the $1.94 support level. Such a breakdown would push the price down to $1.85, invalidating short-term bullish expectations.
