XRP The price has fallen around 4% this month, starting the new year on a negative note. However, on-chain data shows an underlying positive trend.
The number of “millionaire” wallets, or those holding at least 1 million XRP, has increased for the first time since September 2025, according to data source Santiment.
Their number rose by 42 this month to 2,016, ending four months of declines. XRP is the payments-focused cryptocurrency used by financial technology company Ripple to facilitate cross-border transactions.
“A network of +42 wallets with at least 1 million XRP have returned to the ledger, an encouraging sign for the long term,” said Santiment on X.
The good news for XRP bulls does not end there. US-listed spot exchange-traded funds (ETFs) linked to XRP have recorded a net inflow of $91.72 million this month. These funds accumulated $666 million and $499 million in investor money in November and December, respectively, according to data source SoSoValue.
This trend is in stark contrast to the decline in demand for bitcoin. ETFs, which have processed redemptions worth $278 million this month, following more than $4 billion in capital outflows in the last two months of 2025.
Even so, the price of XRP remains in a broad downtrend, as seen in the chart below. The cryptocurrency last traded at $1.88, down 1.7% in 24 hours.
The token has failed to reclaim its 50-day moving average this month, with rallies repeatedly fading near the $2 level. That suggests large holders may be positioning for a longer-term thesis rather than chasing short-term momentum.
That divergence – rising balances of large holders and steady ETF inflows coupled with weak price action – suggests quiet accumulation rather than speculative froth. Historically, similar setups in XRP have preceded periods of consolidation before sharper moves, although the timing has varied widely.
For now, XRP appears caught between long-term positioning and short-term risk aversion. Without a broader rebound in cryptocurrency market momentum, particularly in bitcoin and ether, the token may struggle to turn improving fundamentals into sustained upside.
