Peter Smith
XRP Ledger just smashed through a major deflationary milestone, burning over 14 million tokens - the highest in the crypto's entire history. While XRP (XRP) is still trading around $2.13, this network achievement comes at a time when whale activity is heating up and profit-taking is creating some interesting market dynamics.
XRP (Ripple) Network Is Going Crazy Right Now
The numbers don't lie - XRP Ledger is absolutely crushing it in terms of growth and usage. XRPScan shows that exactly 14,003,265 XRP tokens have been permanently wiped out through the network's burn mechanism. That's a pretty big deal when you think about it.
Here's what makes XRP different from other cryptos: instead of relying on those typical halving events or supply caps, XRP burns a tiny bit of tokens with every single transaction. It's actually pretty clever - this setup keeps spam off the network while slowly chipping away at the total supply. Over time, this could create some serious upward pressure on price as more people use the network.
But here's where it gets really interesting. Santiment data shows that daily active addresses on XRP Ledger have exploded to over 295,000 per day. To put that in perspective, the usual daily average over the past three months was just 35,000 to 40,000 addresses. We're talking about an eight-fold jump in network activity - that's not normal, and it suggests something big is happening behind the scenes.
XRP (Ripple) Whales Are Making Their Move
For the first time since XRP launched nearly 12 years ago, there are now over 2,700 whale and shark wallets holding at least 1 million XRP each. That's a massive milestone that tells us institutional money is flowing in hard.
These aren't your average retail investors we're talking about. Whales don't just throw money around - they do their homework. When you see this kind of accumulation, it usually means the smart money believes something good is coming. Plus, having these big holders around tends to stabilize prices during rough patches.
The timing couldn't be better either. XRP is currently sitting at $2.13, which is more than three times what it was trading for before that wild November 2024 rally. If you were lucky enough to buy in early, you're looking at gains of over 300%. Not too shabby.
XRP (Ripple) Price Action Gets Messy with Profit-Taking
But here's where things get a bit tricky. Glassnode data shows that early holders are cashing out big time - we're talking $68.8 million worth of XRP being sold every single day. That's creating some serious selling pressure that's keeping a lid on price action for now.
If this selling wave keeps up, XRP might test that crucial $2.00 support level. This isn't just any random number - it's a psychological barrier that traders watch like hawks. If $2.00 breaks, the next stop could be around $1.61, which is where things might get interesting for bargain hunters.
On the flip side, if buyers step up and push the price back above the 50-day moving average at $2.27, XRP could settle into a sideways grind for a while. The real fireworks would start if we see a clean break above $2.65 - that could kick off a fresh rally and send XRP hunting for new highs.
What we've got here is a classic tug-of-war between amazing fundamentals and short-term selling pressure. The burn milestone and network growth are definitely bullish signals, but those early investors taking profits are keeping things in check for now. It's going to be fascinating to see which force wins out over the next few weeks.
The 14 million XRP burn milestone isn't just another number to celebrate - it's proof that this network is maturing and finding real utility in the crypto space. As more transactions flow through XRP Ledger and the burn mechanism keeps doing its thing, we could be looking at some serious long-term value creation here.
Peter Smith
