Ripple’s XRP has been one of the top performers during the ongoing bullish rally across the cryptocurrency market. In the last 30 days, XRP has gained by 184%, with its market capitalization increasing threefold from $29 billion to $83 billion.
XRP’s impressive rally has increased speculation around the altcoin’s future performance. This is seen in the open interest, which reached an all-time high of $2.62 billion over the weekend. Most of these positions were held by long traders betting that XRP would extend its rally.
However, XRP’s rally stalled after weekend volatility caused the price to fall from $1.48 to $1.31. This unexpected drop forced many long traders to close their positions by selling, fuelling a downtrend.
Data from Coinglass shows that on November 24, $20.43M in long XRP positions were wiped out. When long traders are forced to close their positions, selling activity accelerates. This exerted additional bearish pressure on XRP, causing the price to trend lower.
However, the bearish movements during the weekend did not deter large traders from accumulating XRP.
XRP whales buy the dip
Data from Santiment shows that XRP whales accumulated more than 50M XRP during the weekend. The amount of XRP held by these large addresses is now at its highest level in over three months, suggesting that whales are increasingly betting on XRP’s future price performance.
If XRP whales are buying, it shows optimism towards the altcoin. This could make a case for more gains ahead for the token.
Analysts are already making bullish bets on XRP, and how far it could rise. According to CrediBULL Crypto on X, XRP may continue its rally, but further upswing will depend on Bitcoin’s future performance.
“Would expect a move to the range highs at $1.60+ at the minimum, but this could be the start of a larger move to the upside,” the analyst said.
XRP traded at $1.39 at press time after an 8.70% drop in 24 hours. Its four-hour chart suggests that a bullish momentum is still in play.
The Relative Strength Index (RSI) stood at 63 at press time, indicating buyers remained in control. Moreover, the RSI has converged with the signal line, creating another buy signal that could raise prices.
XRP’s on-balance volume remains elevated, which is also a bullish sign suggesting that buying pressure is high.