The price of XRP has dropped nearly 10% over the last month, although a slight 1.5% rise was seen this week. The price remains in the range of $2.31 to $1.98, with no significant breakthrough occurring. This tension reflects the division in market behavior: whales are selling into strength while key owner groups continue to buy.
The tension between these two groups keeps the price of XRP in a descending triangle pattern, which has not yet confirmed a reversal in favor of the bulls.
Whales reduce when key holder groups resist pressure
Whale activity shows clear caution.
Wallets holding 100 million–1 billion XRP have reduced their balances from 8.32 billion to 8.27 billion as of December 7. Another group holding 10–100 million XRP reduced their holdings from 11.01 billion to 10.99 billion on December 8. In total, these groups have sold about 70 million XRP in the last 48 hours, which at the current price amounts to approximately $143 million.
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The selling is not dramatic in terms of token quantity, but the situation is sensitive — XRP is trying to stabilize its price right now. This selling pressure helps explain why every breakout attempt has stalled before sentiment can heat up.
The counterparty comes from short- and medium-term holders, and this is clearly visible in the HODL Waves metric. HODL Waves shows how much XRP is held in different 'coin age' groups and how long the tokens remain inactive.
The one-to-three month ownership group increased from 8.52% to 10.31%. The three-to-six month group rose from 9.40% to 10.87%.
These holders typically buy more when they believe selling pressure will ease. A purchase indicating a 10% monthly decline suggests they expect the wedge pattern to eventually break upward.
Thus, XRP is in a clear opposition: whales are selling, active dip buyers are buying.
This tension keeps XRP's price within the same narrowing structure.
XRP price appears to be in a stalemate, as buyers and sellers pull in different directions
XRP forms a descending wedge pattern, which typically favors a bullish reversal — if buyers can create a sufficiently strong breakout. Currently, the pattern is more of a stalemate: whale selling dampens sentiment and accumulating holders prevent a larger decline.
The breakout point is near $2.46, where the descending trend line meets the current price action. XRP's price needs a strong daily close above this level for the reversal to strengthen. If this happens, the next upside targets are $2.61, $2.83, and $3.11.
As long as the price moves between $2.31 and $1.98, the wedge pattern remains valid. However, if the price drops below $1.98, the pattern weakens and exposes $1.82, which acted as a structural support level in a previous phase.
Currently, the outlook is simple: whale selling delays the breakout, while medium-term accumulation maintains the structure. The situation will only be resolved when either side gains a clear advantage.
