Ripple (XRP) rose 0.46% on August 8 (local time), trading at $1.04 at the time of writing. Overseas crypto media outlet CoinGape reported that on-chain data shows whale activity becoming distinctly more active, and with the combination of a major XRP Ledger (XRPL) upgrade and ETF capital inflows, market attention is increasingly focused on the asset.

■ Whale Ratio Reaches 57.7% on Binance…"Not Direct Evidence of Accumulation"

According to a report by CoinGape citing CryptoQuant data, the 'Whale-Retail Spread' for XRP on Binance has risen to 57.7%. This means that whales hold a larger share than retail investors.

Analyst Amr Taha explained that whale activity has been prominent even as XRP shows weakness around the psychological support level of $1. However, he added that this figure alone should not be taken as definitive evidence of whale accumulation. Taha stated, "The whale-retail spread alone should not be interpreted as direct evidence of whale accumulation," adding, "It demonstrates that the relative activity gap between large investors and retail investors is widening across multiple trading markets."

■ XRPL v3.3.0 Upgrade…Enhancing Tokenization and Privacy

CoinGape reported that whale movements are aligning with the recent XRPL v3.3.0 upgrade. This upgrade was implemented to strengthen the network's privacy protection and tokenization features. CoinGape previously reported that XRP open interest also increased following this upgrade, and analyzed that the expansion of tokenization could serve as a positive factor for XRP's price.

■ ETF Records 4 Consecutive Weeks of Net Inflows…Institutional Investor Buying Also Detected

According to information relayed by CoinGape citing SoSoValue data, while whale activity for XRP remains active on Binance, XRP exchange-traded funds (ETFs) have recorded four consecutive weeks of net capital inflows. During the week from August 3 to 7 (local time), $1.01 million flowed in on a net basis. CoinGape projected that if capital inflows continue for the remainder of August, XRP ETFs could record five consecutive months of net inflows.

Institutional investor buying activity was also detected. As CoinGape previously reported, asset management firm IMC-Chicago, which manages $418 billion in assets, purchased 50,975 shares of XRP ETFs. According to CoinGape, citing SoSoValue data, the total net assets of XRP ETFs were tallied at $953 million. This accounts for 1.49% of XRP's total market capitalization of $65 billion.

■ Technical Analysis…Holding the $1.01 Support Level Is Key

CoinGape's analysis of XRP's daily price movement shows that the price is forming a 'Falling Wedge' pattern. This pattern is typically interpreted as indicating a potential reversal from a downtrend to an uptrend. However, XRP's price has declined to the point of testing the lower support level located at $1.01. CoinGape forecast that if the price closes below this support level, the downtrend could continue.

The Relative Strength Index (RSI) recorded 40, indicating that the current price movement favors selling pressure. CoinGape also analyzed that volume bars have shown high selling pressure for five consecutive days. Based on this, CoinGape interpreted that retail investors are not following the buying activity of whales and institutional investors.

Conversely, CoinGape projected that if retail buying pressure returns and XRP maintains the $1.01 support level, the price could rise to the upper Bollinger Band of $1.14.

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