A significant amount of XRP coins have been spotted moving from an external wallet to a cryptocurrency exchange. The transfer, to the tune of 40 million XRP, has raised speculations across the crypto community as investors worry about a possible dump.
XRP has performed fairly this month, jumping by 38.55% since the beginning of the year to trade as high as $3.4. However, a broader market downturn and reduced whale activities have triggered a notable decline in its price to a little above $3. Moreover, the recent transfer has added to investors’ conjecture of more price dips ahead.
Also Read: Better Markets Supports SEC’s Appeal Against Ripple, Cites Investor Protection Risks
40 Million XRP Moves to Binance
Whale Alert, a service that tracks large crypto transactions, reported the movement on X (formerly Twitter), noting that an anonymous entity moved a whopping 40,000,000 XRP to the world’s largest crypto exchange by trade volume, Binance. The transfer, valued at approximately $125 million, was conducted on January 20, the same day as Trump’s inauguration.
This has added an extra layer to the dump speculations by community members as they suspect that the whale was trying to cash in on the previous pump in expectation of a market correction ahead.
However, 36crypto took a closer look at the transaction history of the supposedly ‘unknown wallet’ and found that the sending address is closely tied to the Binance exchange and still has a balance of 772.354 million XRP.
This suggests that the 40 million XRP transfer could be part of Binance’s internal asset shuffle and not in fact, a dump as others speculated. Moving large amounts of cryptocurrencies across wallets is a common practice among exchanges and a part of their asset management strategy.
EX Ripple Executive Predicts Settlement or Dismissal in the SEC Lawsuit
Meanwhile, XRP might be on for a bullish ride this week. A former Ripple executive, Sean McBride, commented on the ongoing legal battle between Ripple and the SEC in a discussion on X, noting that the case should see a settlement or dismissal sometime this week.
His prediction falls in line with the broader XRP community expectation especially since the SEC now has a new acting chairman who is pro-crypto. Mark Uyeda was appointed the interim chairman of the commission pending Paul Atkin’s nomination confirmation by the Senate.
McBride opined that Ripple co-founders, Brad Garlinghouse, and Chris Larsen, are owed compensation and that there should be a level of confidentiality with everyone involved. According to him, a settlement makes more sense than a dismissal since it offers a more detailed resolution.
If this happens, the price of XRP could go off the roof, surging to heights not seen before. The prolonged lawsuit has been one of XRP’s suppressing factors, hindering its growth for the last four years. On the other hand, if the case persists, XRP could be in for a longer consolidation period until a definite resolution is made in the case.
At the time of writing, XRP traded at $3.08, representing a 3.66% decline in the last 24 hours.
Also Read: Settlement or Dismissal Expected in Ripple Lawsuit Soon, Former Exec Says, See When
