12-10-2025 – XRP plunged as much as 42% during Friday’s broader crypto market sell-off before recovering to $2.44, while large holders accumulated over $2.5 billion worth of tokens during the chaos, according to on-chain analytics platform Santiment.
The Ripple-affiliated token briefly touched an intraday low of $1.54 as $150 million in futures open interest evaporated and leveraged positions were forcibly closed. Trading volume exploded by 357% above the 30-day average to exceed $21.5 billion, reflecting panic selling followed by aggressive bargain hunting. On-chain data indicates XRP cleared all major downside liquidity zones on the daily chart, which some analysts interpret as a potential liquidity flush that could precede stabilization if demand returns.
While retail traders faced mass liquidations, wallet addresses holding more than 1 billion XRP increased their combined holdings from 23.98 billion to 25.02 billion tokens—an accumulation of approximately 1.04 billion XRP worth $2.54 billion at current prices.
Exchange balance data remained relatively stable during the drawdown, suggesting the decline stemmed primarily from derivatives liquidations rather than spot market selling pressure. This whale accumulation pattern often signals institutional confidence despite short-term volatility. The recovery comes ahead of a critical regulatory window, with several spot crypto ETF decisions expected between October 18-21.
