It’s Chaos: XRP Whales and Retail Now Colliding After ETF News

LIVE

Loading prices...

It’s Chaos: XRP Whales and Retail Now Colliding After ETF News

In Brief

• Whales accumulated XRP early, while retail buyers entered only after the ETF news.
• This mix of early whale positioning and late retail FOMO often fuels sharp volatility.
• With both groups active near the same levels, XRP may face turbulent price action ahead.

Ana Zirojević 2025-11-17

Amid a widespread devastation that has struck the prices of cryptocurrencies across the board, on-chain data shows a clear divide between large investors and retail traders in the lead-up to XRP’s recent exchange-traded fund (ETF)-driven excitement.

Indeed, whale wallets were accumulating XRP well before the news of Canary Capital’s spot XRP ETF, which opened with record activity despite a broader crypto market pullback, became public, while retail investors only began entering the market after headlines broke.

$XRPC at $26m in volume in first 30min, wow, gonna blow away my $17m guess. Has good shot at beating $BSOL's $57m as biggest Day One of any launch this year. pic.twitter.com/UrbHsRYxYV

— Eric Balchunas (@EricBalchunas) November 13, 2025

Collision of Whale and Retail Flows Could Drive Volatility

Specifically, a new chart shared by CryptoQuant contributor Woo Minkyu in an X post on November 13, shows this behavior clearly: large green markers, representing large-order whale flows, cluster throughout the period prior to the ETF announcement.

In contrast, small red retail markers appear only afterward, demonstrating a late surge of smaller traders entering the market following the news.

Whales were building #XRP positions before the ETF news.

Ad

Retail only showed up after the announcement.

This shift matters — once retail enters late, the market usually becomes more volatile and harder to read.
Whale flow + retail flow are now colliding.

Nothing is guaranteed… pic.twitter.com/r26TBalu20

— 우민규 (Woominkyu) (@Woo_Minkyu) November 13, 2025

This shift is significant because markets often behave differently once retail participation ramps up. Historically, periods where whale and retail flows collide tend to be more volatile and less predictable, with price moves driven by rapid sentiment swings.

While whale accumulation can signal confidence or strategic positioning, retail FOMO (‘fear of missing out’) often brings instability, overreaction, and sharper price swings. With both forces now converging around the $2.30 – $2.40 zone, the next phase of XRP’s price action may be turbulent.

For the time being, XRP is changing hands at the price of $2.29, recording a decline of 8.08% in the last 24 hours, having gained 3.85% across the previous seven days, and losing 7.01% on its monthly chart, according to the most recent information.

*XRP price 7-day chart. Source:* *CoinMarketCap*

All things considered, nothing is truly guaranteed, but the flow data paints a familiar picture: whales positioned early, retail chased them late, and volatility may be next.

More Must-Reads:

How do you rate this article?

Subscribe to our YouTube channel for crypto market insights and educational videos.

💥The EU's finally catching up to the Crypto Race

Bitcoin might be losing to gold 💀

💥Trump Just Cancelled Europe's' Tariffs

🏆This is how you build a WINNING Crypto Portfolio

😳BitMine Just Made a $200M Bet on Mr Beast!

💥Iran's Crypto Activity Just Exploded

Subscribe View all videos

Briefly, clearly and without noise – get the most important crypto news and market insights first.

Join our Telegram TechGaged Global

Follow on Flipboard @TechGaged

Tags:

Ana Zirojević Crypto journalist and market analyst with 7+ years of experience covering digital assets, blockchain technology, and data-driven market analysis.