XRP Short Squeeze Collides with Whale Accumulation as Ripple Expands Institutional Footprint

XRP price spiked 5% to $1.15, triggering $634M in forced liquidations, with short sellers bearing 80% of losses. Whales accumulated as weak US jobs data fueled rate cut hopes.

A violent surge in XRP’s price on Thursday triggered a cascade of forced liquidations, wiping out $634 million in leveraged bets across the crypto market. Short sellers bore the brunt of the pain — short positions on XRP accounted for a staggering 80% of the total. The token spiked to $1.15 in early trading before settling near $1.09, a gain of roughly 5% on the day. For months, XRP had shown little upward momentum; the sudden breakout forced a wave of bear capitulation.

Behind the move, the data tells a story of diverging sentiment. While retail traders remained cautious after a weak second quarter, large holders — often called whales — stepped in aggressively. The hourly trading volume exploded by more than 14 times the previous average at 03:27 UTC, propelling the price decisively above the $1.05 resistance. Network activity reflected the shift: the number of newly created wallets hit a three-month high, and active addresses surged to 39,500. Whale addresses were the primary drivers, accumulating XRP as smaller players hesitated.

The macro catalyst came from the U.S. labor market. June’s nonfarm payrolls added only 57,000 jobs, less than half the consensus estimate. The disappointing number lowers the probability of further Federal Reserve rate hikes, providing relief across risk assets including cryptocurrencies. The entire crypto market breathed a sigh of relief, and XRP was one of the main beneficiaries.

On the fundamental front, Ripple is pushing forward with institutional adoption. The company joined the Open USD (OUSD) consortium, a stablecoin project backed by roughly 140 financial heavyweights, including BlackRock, Visa and Mastercard. Ripple is positioning the XRP Ledger as the blockchain of choice for large institutions, with XRP acting as a bridge currency for high-value transactions. In Europe, the firm secured a provisional crypto license in Luxembourg under the new MiCA framework, enabling regulated services across 30 countries.

Technically, the picture remains fragile despite the rally. XRP is still trading well below its long-term moving averages, with the 50-day line sitting at $1.22. The Relative Strength Index stands at roughly 43, below the neutral 50 level, indicating that momentum has not yet turned convincingly bullish. Traders are now watching a tight range: immediate resistance at $1.10, followed by $1.20. On the downside, the newly formed support just above the $1 mark will need to hold to avoid a retest of the recent year-low of $1.01.

Ripple is also preparing a major protocol upgrade — a native lending layer for institutional users. However, only about a fifth of validators currently support the change, far short of the 80% threshold required for activation. While the plan signals long-term utility, near-term approval remains uncertain. Meanwhile, Ripple unlocked one billion XRP from its escrow account during the rally, yet the token’s price continued climbing, underscoring the strength of buying pressure.

Despite the recent bounce, XRP has lost 42% of its value since the start of the year and remains a long way from its 52-week high of $3.65. The short squeeze and whale accumulation offer a glimmer of hope, but the path higher is littered with technical hurdles and an incomplete validator vote. The next few sessions will test whether the new-found support above $1 can hold.