XRP traded relatively flat on Wednesday, following a sharp rebound on Tuesday, fueled by President Donald Trump’s proposal for a U.S. strategic crypto reserve that includes XRP . The announcement on Sunday triggered a nearly 40% surge in XRP’s price within a single day. Notably, Trump’s remarks also ignited a surge in transaction volume. Popular crypto analyst Ali Martinez highlighted the spike on Wednesday, tweeting, “Over $5.37 billion worth of XRP was transferred in the last 24 hours,” underscoring heightened market activity. Meanwhile, Martinez highlighted on-chain data from Santiment showing that large investors accumulated nearly 1 billion XRP within the same period, reflecting increased confidence among institutional players. Beyond whale accumulation, on-chain metrics indicate a dramatic rise in adoption. On Wednesday, Martinez noted a significant uptick in active wallet tweeting: “ The number of active XRP addresses has skyrocketed by 620% in the past week, climbing from 74,589 to 462,650. This follows Santiment data from February 20, which revealed that 261 more wallets now hold over 100,000 XRP than ten weeks ago, highlighting a growing accumulation trend among high-net-worth investors. Additionally, the total number of accounts on the XRP Ledger has increased by approximately 24% from January 2024 to date, reflecting broader adoption for financial applications, including cross-border payments. That said, several factors drive XRP’s rally, including optimism surrounding potential crypto-friendly policies and regulatory reforms in the U.S. The ongoing legal battle between Ripple and the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) remains a key focus, but market sentiment has increasingly tilted in XRP’s favor. Elsewhere, industry analysts point to new strategic partnerships, Ripple’s stablecoin RLUSD launch, and speculation about a potential spot XRP ETF as catalysts for the asset’s recent surge. Ripple President Monica Long recently expressed confidence in ETF approval, stating in an interview that she expects regulatory approval “soon,” mainly if Trump’s administration accelerates regulatory clarity. Adding to speculation, reports suggest Ripple executives, including CEO Brad Garlinghouse, have been engaging in discussions with Trump’s administration, potentially shaping favorable digital asset regulations. Despite the optimism, some analysts caution that whales may capitalize on the price rally to offload holdings. Crypto analyst Miles Deutscher noted on Monday that some XRP whales are selling at record levels. Since XRP’s price skyrocketed over 500% in November 2024, large holders have been actively distributing tokens. Notably, CryptoQuant data indicates that the 90-day moving average of whale trading volume has ranged between $120 million and $180 million per day. At press time XRP was trading at $2.20 reflecting a 7.71% drop in the past 24 hours.
