The XRP price has returned to the critical 2 USD level after several failed breakout attempts, reflecting uncertainty in the market.
Every attempt to rise above the short-term resistance has been met with selling pressure, dragging the altcoin back towards this psychological floor.
XRP holders are in a tug of war
Whales have started to offload large portions of their holdings. Over the past seven days, wallets holding between 1 million and 10 million XRP have sold more than 390 million XRP, worth over 783 million USD at current prices.
This distribution level shows clear frustration among high-value holders who expected a stronger recovery. Such sales typically weigh on market sentiment, especially when driven by a group that can significantly impact liquidity.
Do you want more token insights like this? Sign up for editor Harsh Notariya's daily crypto newsletter here.
Despite the whales' distribution, long-term holders are countering the downward pressure. HODL Waves data shows that the share of the XRP supply held by the 1-year to 2-year group increased from 8.58% to 9.81% over the past week.
This signals a growing conviction among maturing holders who acquired XRP less than a year ago and are now choosing to hold their tokens through volatility. This stability helps to stabilize XRP at 2 USD, alleviating the impact of whale sales.
XRP is trading at 2.00 USD at the time of writing, an important psychological and technical support level. In recent days, price movements have repeatedly pulled back to this point, confirming its significance in maintaining market structure.
Given the opposing pressure from whale selling and long-term holders' accumulation, XRP is likely to remain within the range of 2.00 USD and 2.20 USD until a clear directional catalyst emerges. A change in sentiment or improved market conditions would be needed to break this consolidation pattern.
However, if the negative momentum strengthens and whale selling accelerates, XRP could fall through support at 1.94 USD. Such a breakdown could lead to a deeper price decline towards 1.85 USD, invalidating any short-term positive expectations.
