More XRP investors abandon ship
Following Ripple’s unfolding case with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), investors’ uncertainty is on the rise and many have chosen to walk the cautious path. On this note, many investors are abandoning the Ripple ship.
Recent data from Coin Metrics, a crypto and blockchain data provider, reveals that the number of addresses holding up to 1 million XRP tokens has dropped sharply in the last two weeks. The firm confirmed in a report that:
The number of addresses holding at least 1M XRP dropped from 1,721 on December 21st, the day before the announcement, to 1,567 by January 3rd.
The only logical explanation for this is that whale investors are quickly liquidating their positions amidst the regulatory uncertainty surrounding the digital asset.
It is clear that nobody wants to catch a falling knife. As illustrated in the Coin Metrics chart above, the number of XRP whales steadily rose from early 2019 before taking a nosedive in late December. Addresses with up to 1 million XRP have dropped to a new low last seen in October 2019.
As a result of the SEC’s lawsuit against Ripple and its executives, the price of XRP has plunged more than 70%. Hedge funds and exchanges are beginning to distance themselves from the project.