Despite the heightened volatility in the altcoin markets, Ripple (XRP) has consolidated around the $0.52 mark for most of the past two weeks. Will the bullish whales and new users flocking to the XRP ledger network trigger the ongoing XRP price gains into a new gear?
Last week, the altcoin markets took a significant hit after major trading platforms delisted a number of tokens identified as securities by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).
With a positive outcome expected in Ripple’s own long-running SEC lawsuit, XRP appears poised to benefit from this interesting turn of events.
Will the altcoin investors reallocate capital to XRP, and the confident whale investors power the XRP Price above $0.60?
Altcoin Investors are Switching to XRP
The US SEC has conspicuously excluded XRP, ETH, and BTC from recent court filings. Amid US regulators’ crackdown on the crypto industry, concerned altcoin investors are now turning to the XRP ledger (XRPL) network.
Since the start of June, the XRPL Network Growth has increased considerably. Specifically, between June 2 and June 12, it surged 70% from 1,435 to 2,443 new wallet addresses created.
Network Growth tracks the rate at which a blockchain network attracts new users by summing up the number of new wallet addresses created daily.
When it increases sharply during an industry-wide contraction, as seen above, it indicates the project is gaining market share from other networks.
More users joining a network creates new demand for the services built on the blockchain. This ultimately puts upward pressure on the price of the native coin.
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Historical data shows that previous XRP price cycles have often been moved in sync with Network Growth.
If this pattern repeats as investors continue to join XRPL from other embattled altcoin networks, XRP holders can expect more price upswing in the coming weeks.
Bullish Whales Have Seized Control
On-chain data reveals that a recent regulator crackdown has effectively split whale investors on the XRPL network into two camps. Since May 31, the cohort holding 10 million to 100 million XRP balances has taken a largely bearish position. In contrast, those holding 1 million to 10 million tokens have taken an optimistic stance.
The chart below shows that the bearish whales (red) sold off 10 million XRP coins between June 6 and June 12. Meanwhile, the bullish whales (blue) bought 70 million coins during the same period.
At the current market price of $0.52, the XRP bulls have invested $36.4 million to overrule the $5.2 million sell-pressure from the bearish whales.
With the bullish whales in the lead by such a large margin, it could be enough to sway the hawkish retail investors and institutional holders to become bullish themselves.
In summary, if new investors keep flocking to the XRPL network and bullish whales remain in control, the ongoing XRP price rally could enter second gear in the coming weeks.
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XRP Price Prediction: Final Push Toward $0.60?
If the bullish whale investors continue to double down on their long positions, XRP price could leap closer to $0.60 before retracting.
With prices currently sitting at $0.52, the Market-Value to Realized-Value (MVRV) data, most crypto investors buying XRP within the last 30 days are holding 2% profits.
Considering the historical trading patterns, they are likely to hold out for 5% gains more before booking some profits around $0.55.
But if the bulls can push past that resistance, the XRP price could edge closer to achieving the $0.60 price target.
Conversely, the bears could overturn the optimistic stance if the XRP price unexpectedly drops below $0.50. Nevertheless, a large number of investors will likely offer bullish support at that zone to avoid slipping into a net-loss position.
Otherwise, XRP could slip further toward the next significant support level at $0.45.
Disclaimer
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