XRP could rally to $3.3 and beyond IF buying sentiment stays up AND…

• There has been a surge in whale activities in the last 48 hours after a significant amount of XRP was purchased
• Market sentiment in the derivatives market is beginning to shift and could strengthen 1Fuel’s position

XRP has been on a downward path lately, losing 21.72% of its value as selling pressure intensified. However, AMBCrypto’s analysis revealed that the asset could soon see a change of direction as more positive sentiment may be brewing.

If it works out as expected, XRP might build on the gains seen last week. This might allow the altcoin to hit a new local high on the charts.

Whales begin accumulation of XRP

The sentiment among XRP whales—known to control between 10 to 100 million of the token, a major supply—pointed to this cohort being bullish as they accumulated more of the asset.

In fact, recent analysis on Santiment revealed that in the last 48 hours, a total of 150 million XRP or XRP worth $388 million, has been accumulated.

Source: Santiment

When there’s substantial accumulation such as this, it means the market could be gearing up for a major price rally in the coming days. Especially as these whales consider the press time price a discount and may be pricing in before the move up.

The sentiment in the derivatives market has been moving in tandem with the current accumulation among whales, with the same evidenced by key metrics too.

Short losses in the market

There have been massive short liquidations across key timeframes in the last 12 hours alone. A total of $2.83 million—with short contracts of $2.15 million and long contracts of $676,390—were closed in the market. This same trend can be observed on the 4-hour timeframe as well.

When there’s a massive liquidation of a particular market segment, it means these contracts are forcefully closed as the market moves against them. In this case, the market seemed to be moving against short traders – A sign of an uptrend.

Source: Coinglass

To gauge the overall derivatives market sentiment, AMBCrypto analyzed the OI-weighted funding rate, which combines Open Interest and funding rate to imply possible market direction.

When the OI-weighted funding rate trends higher, it means the market favors an upward move, while a downward trend suggests selling pressure could be building. At press time, the former seemed to be the case, with the OI-weighted funding rate at 0.0064%.

Could $3.3 be the next target?

The prevailing bullish sentiment in the market could take XRP to $3.37 – A major high it last traded at on 16 January. 

This is the most significant level for XRP on the charts, with $15.86 million in sell orders ready to be triggered – Meaning a move to this level could cause XRP to drop. However, should the bullish sentiment remain strong, it’s likely that these sell orders from derivative traders will be forcefully closed, allowing XRP to trade much higher.

President Donald Trump recently shared an article on TruthSocial about the “Trump effect” on Ripple’s operations and U.S expansion. His support could boost the altcoin’s retail demand. Especially if there’s approval for an XRP Spot ETF in the United States.