- Whale movements signal potential XRP sell-off, sparking market uncertainty.
- Caitlin Long criticizes Ripple’s centralization, highlighting XRP’s stalled adoption.
- XRP price drops as exchange inflows suggest looming market turbulence.
Caitlin Long, founder and CEO of Avanti Financial Group, recently stirred controversy in the XRP community after she criticized Ripple on the Gold Goats ‘n Guns podcast. Long raised concerns over the XRP Ledger’s centralization, arguing that Ripple has failed to gain significant traction despite being in the market for over a decade.
She also suggested that the company’s pivot to stablecoins reflects an acknowledgment that its original vision for XRP’s adoption has not succeeded.
Long criticized the system pre-mining 100 billion tokens of XRP, 20 of which were given to Ripple founders, and 55 trillion put into escrow. This, she claimed, has contributed to the doubts about the decentralization of XRP, which is an issue that was also brought out in the court in the case between Ripple and the SEC.
The proponents of Ripple note, though, that the XRP Ledger has no central point of control. They cite, for example, the issuance of RLUSD stablecoins on the network, which proves that it is not just a speculative asset.
Also Read: XRP ETF Approval May Hit a Roadblock as SEC’s Crenshaw Blocks Progress
XRP’s Whale Movement Sparks Concerns Over Price Decline
However, Ripple’s struggles may not end with Long’s criticism, as recent on-chain data from CryptoQuant reveals troubling signs for XRP’s price action. Whale flows have again become negative; thus, this may create a sell-off in the market.
This trend is a replica of past depressions, such as the one experienced towards the beginning of 2025, when massive holders sold extensive quantities of XRP, triggering a mass decline in its prices to below $1.
Along with the declining trends, XRP has also had its recovery moments. Later, in mid-2025, a whale trade caused a price spike, making XRP reach nearly $2.80 by June. However, since the end of July, prices have weakened again due to negative whale flows, pushing the price down below $2.40 once again, leading to uncertainty in the market.
Exchange Data Highlights Growing Volatility in XRP
Exchange data from Coinglass highlights similar patterns, with XRP seeing inflows to exchanges during price peaks. This has been consistent with a surge in prices in the past, and this indicates that large holders will sell.
Source: Coinglass
On the other hand, XRP outflows have been associated with either a stagnation or a fall in the prices, which makes the argument that whale activity is a critical determinant in the volatile behavior of the prices of XRP.
XRP’s current value is $2.99, and it has improved modestly in the last 24 hours. However, with whale movements indicating a potential sell-off, the market could be in for more turbulence ahead.
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