XRP Price Prediction: Whale Dumps 500,000 XRP, Falling Below 2.3 – Is It a Buying Signal?

XRP price is at $2.32 after whales sold 500,000 tokens within 48 hours. 21Shares has filed an S-1 form for its spot XRP ETF, which will automatically be approved if the SEC takes no action within 20 days. Analysts indicate that immediate support levels are between $2.00 and $2.30, with a breakdown targeting $1.80–$1.90.

Ripple’s Institutional Infrastructure Build-Up

Ripple has acquired GTreasury for corporate treasury management, Hidden Road for prime brokerage services, Rail Payments Platform for interbank payments, Standard Custody & Trust and Palisade for institutional custody, and Metaco for tokenized assets. Each acquisition connects to the XRP ledger, enabling the protocol to handle institutional-scale transactions. This series of strategic acquisitions demonstrates Ripple’s effort to build a comprehensive institutional-grade financial ecosystem.

GTreasury is a leader in enterprise treasury management software serving hundreds of large corporations. Acquiring GTreasury allows Ripple to integrate XRP and blockchain technology into enterprise financial systems, providing solutions for cross-border payments and cash management. Hidden Road is a prime broker offering trade execution, clearing, and financing services for institutional investors. This acquisition enables Ripple to offer a one-stop trading infrastructure for institutional clients.

Rail Payments Platform focuses on real-time interbank payments, and its acquisition will enhance XRP’s application in bank payments. Standard Custody & Trust and Palisade are digital asset custody providers, addressing the security concerns of institutional investors. Metaco specializes in infrastructure for tokenized securities and physical assets, indicating Ripple’s optimism about the future of tokenized equities and other tangible assets on blockchain.

Critics point out that high supply is facing dynamic changes, as stablecoins, tokenized bonds, forex, and credit are flowing through XRP as bridge assets. Lock-ups, transaction burns, and corporate treasury holdings, combined with large-scale value movement across the network, could cause potential supply shocks. If Ripple’s institutional strategy succeeds, large amounts of XRP could be locked in various financial applications, reducing market circulation and positively impacting the price.

The Five Key Components of Ripple’s Institutional Strategy

Corporate Finance: GTreasury integrates enterprise treasury management systems

Trade Execution: Hidden Road provides prime brokerage and clearing services

Bank Payments: Rail Payments Platform enables real-time interbank payments

Asset Custody: Standard Custody & Trust + Palisade ensure institutional asset security

Tokenization Infrastructure: Metaco supports tokenized securities and physical assets

Warning Sign from Western Union Choosing Solana

Despite increasing adoption of this technology, Western Union recently selected Solana as the issuer of its USD-pegged stablecoin USDPT, scheduled for launch in the first half of 2026. The company chose Solana’s architecture to handle fast, low-cost consumer remittances, exiting XRP’s annual transfer volume of hundreds of billions of dollars. This decision poses a significant challenge to XRP price forecasts.

Western Union is one of the largest global remittance companies, processing hundreds of billions of dollars in cross-border transfers annually. If Western Union adopts XRP, it would generate substantial real-world demand for the token. However, their choice of Solana is based on technical considerations: Solana’s high throughput (theoretically 65,000 transactions per second) and extremely low fees (usually below $0.001) are more suitable for large-scale consumer remittances.

Nevertheless, Western Union’s consumer-oriented approach differs from XRP’s target institutional market. XRP’s ledger includes compliance tools such as trust lines and account authorizations, which are crucial for banks and financial institutions to meet AML and KYC requirements. While Solana outperforms XRP in performance, it lacks comparable compliance features.

From a price prediction perspective, Western Union’s choice serves as a warning: even if Ripple succeeds in the institutional market, consumer markets might be captured by other more technically advanced platforms. This could limit XRP’s overall market potential. However, the institutional market’s scale and profitability are often higher, and if Ripple can dominate cross-border payments for institutions, XRP’s value could see significant growth.

21Shares ETF Automatic Approval Mechanism in 20 Days

A few hours ago, 21Shares submitted an S-1 form for its spot XRP ETF. If the SEC takes no action within 20 days, the form will be automatically approved. This timing mechanism is a unique feature of U.S. securities law designed to prevent indefinite delays by regulators. If the SEC finds issues with the application, it must comment or reject within 20 days; otherwise, the application becomes effective automatically.

21Shares is a leading European issuer of crypto ETPs, managing billions of dollars in digital assets. The company has successfully launched Bitcoin and Ethereum ETPs and now aims at XRP. If approved, this would be the third mainstream cryptocurrency with a physical ETF after Bitcoin and Ethereum, which would be significant for XRP price forecasts.

The ETF launch typically brings several positive effects. First, it attracts institutional capital. Many institutions cannot directly buy and hold cryptocurrencies due to compliance, but they can invest through ETFs. Second, liquidity improves, as ETFs are traded on traditional exchanges, providing additional liquidity for XRP. Third, price discovery becomes more efficient, as more trading venues and participants contribute to market pricing.

However, SEC approval is not guaranteed. The agency has historically been cautious with crypto ETFs. Bitcoin ETFs took years of applications and rejections before approval. While the Trump administration was more crypto-friendly, the SEC still needs to ensure investor protection. The 20-day automatic approval mechanism exists, but the SEC can also issue comments or require modifications within that period, potentially delaying approval.

Can the Fourth Stage of the Ladder Pattern Successfully Accumulate?

(Source: TradingView)

XRP is testing the $2.00 support level, marking the fourth major accumulation phase in a multi-year ladder pattern. Previously, consolidation at $0.005, $0.175, and $0.50 led to higher price levels. This ladder pattern holds significant historical reference value in XRP price forecasts.

The logic of the ladder pattern is: each accumulation phase builds momentum for the next rally. During accumulation, prices move sideways, and the distribution of holdings shifts from weak hands to strong hands. When accumulation completes and selling pressure diminishes, prices break out into an upward phase. The success of previous accumulation phases confirms this pattern’s validity for XRP.

The current phase needs to hold above $2.00 to continue toward targets of $2.70–$3.00. Analyst Ali Martinez notes that daily TD Sequential indicators suggest potential buy opportunities near current levels. TD Sequential is a timing tool used to identify market reversals. When the sequence completes, it often signals the end of the current trend and a possible reversal.

Technical signals and long-term structural patterns align across multiple timeframes. Immediate support is at $2.00–$2.30, with a breakdown targeting $1.80–$1.90. Holding above $2.00 and increasing volume could push the price back toward $2.50–$2.70, confirming the accumulation pattern. Failure to hold support might trigger a deeper correction before any recovery.

(Source: Santiment)

Whale selling 500,000 tokens within 48 hours created short-term selling pressure. However, from another perspective, this sell-off also clears out weak hands, setting the stage for a new accumulation phase. If support at $2.00 holds, combined with the progress of the 21Shares ETF application and ongoing institutional infrastructure development, XRP price forecasts remain optimistic toward $2.70–$3.00. Conversely, a break below $2.00 would invalidate the ladder pattern, requiring the market to reassess the accumulation logic.