[DigitalToday reporter Jinju Hong] Large XRP whales have bought more than 4 billion additional tokens since a decline began in July 2025.

Decrypt reported on Monday that wallets holding 10 million to 100 million XRP now hold 12.13 billion tokens. That is up 4.63 billion from before the downtrend intensified.

The key point is that large holders and wallets that resemble individual investors moved in opposite directions as price weakness persisted. Santiment data show these large wallets held about 8 billion tokens in early July 2025. After XRP rose to $3.60 on July 18, 2025 and then immediately entered a correction, holdings fell to 7.5 billion at one point. That was because large whales also took profits after the sharp drop.

The trend changed after August 2025. As XRP kept sliding, large whales shifted from gradual selling to accumulation, lifting combined holdings to 11.18 billion by December 2025. The pace of buying then slowed, but holdings began rising again from March 2026 and have now topped 12 billion for the first time.

At current prices, the 4.63 billion XRP accumulated during the down market are worth about $4.9 billion. The outlet noted that at the July peak of $3.60 last year, the amount would exceed $16.6 billion. That indicates large funds used the price fall as an opportunity to buy at lower levels.

Price action moved the other way. XRP has kept making lower highs since hitting a peak of $3.60 last July and is now trading around $1.06. The decline from the peak exceeds 70 percent, and it has fallen about 42 percent so far this year. Unlike the broader cryptocurrency market, where declines intensified after a collapse on Oct. 10, 2025, XRP's weakness began 3 months earlier and has continued to the present.

Investor sentiment also deteriorated. According to Santiment's May report, XRP's positive-to-negative sentiment ratio fell to 1.1. The outlet presented it as a figure confirming a bearish bias. Earlier this month, another assessment said market sentiment had turned "extremely bearish."

In this trend, mid-sized wallets reduced holdings instead. So-called small whale and shark wallets holding 100,000 to 1 million XRP distributed 1.3 billion tokens in sales after August 2025. Even within the same down market, large holders kept accumulating while relatively smaller wallets sold amid anxiety.

As a result, the XRP market is seeing a clear split in responses by holder type even as prices keep falling. The bearish trend is continuing for now, but large wallets surpassing 12 billion tokens for the first time is expected to remain a key indicator when looking at future supply and demand dynamics.