What BTC, ETH, and XRP whales do that small wallets cannot see.
A recent study by Santiment reveals previously unexplored dynamics affecting $XRP and other major cryptocurrencies. For the first time, the analytics firm maps the behavioral patterns of whales ( large holders ) and small wallets, illustrating how their contradictory actions can trigger significant price volatility.
Understanding this relationship provides a unique lens for traders to comprehend market movements and potential opportunities for achieving extraordinary profits.
The hidden movements of whales for XRP are causing unexpected rises in the price of Ripple.
The Santiment chart template tracks six major cryptocurrencies, including Bitcoin, Ethereum, XRP, Cardano, WETH, and Lido Staked ETH.
The analysis shows that when whales are accumulating while small wallets are selling, prices often surge upward. Conversely, when whales reduce their holdings while small wallets are buying, markets tend to decline.
Using XRP as the first example, despite the poor performance in the second half of 2025, retail wallets continued to buy, driven by a constant fear of missing out.
At the same time, major stakeholders were selectively accumulating, creating short bursts of upward momentum. However, the most profitable signals came when whales quietly added to their positions while smaller wallets were selling XRP.
This contrast highlights the importance of tracking both large and small holders. XRP retail wallets tend to follow the crowd, while whales strategically maintain their positions, forming the basis for unexpected price movements.
Since XRP's price surpassed $3.62 in July, retail buying has continued even as whale accumulations led to temporary price spikes. This has shown the significant impact of large holders on market volatility.
Bitcoin, Ethereum, and other alternative cryptocurrencies reveal similar dynamics.
Bitcoin provides a clearer example, as the significant bull runs showed the green bars ( that when whales quietly increased their positions while small wallets were offloading, bullish momentum was created.
In contrast, when whales were unloading and retail traders were holding on to their purchases, prices generally fell.
Ethereum followed a similar pattern. Between June and August 2025, strategic ETH accumulation by key stakeholders led to a price increase of up to 87%, even as small wallets were selling.
A study by Santiment shows that these counter movements precede volatility more reliably than traditional indicators.
Santiment's insights extend to other major cryptocurrencies. Cardano whales have been continuously accumulating during market pullbacks, stabilizing ADA prices, while smaller wallets chase the smaller upticks.
Lido Staked ETH shows intense buying from whales preceding price increases, even as small wallets remain largely inactive. These patterns confirm that monitoring the behavior of wallet categories can provide actionable signals across various cryptocurrencies, not just BTC, ETH, and XRP.
Alongside the interaction between whales and small wallets, Santiment indicates that identifying optimal periods for buying and selling based on algorithms could represent the next breakthrough in determining who drives prices. Such knowledge could enable traders to act quickly on new trends.
Therefore, understanding these hidden forces can reveal the timing of the next major price movements and who is truly driving them.
Merchants merging whale activity against small wallets in their strategies can gain a distinct advantage in predicting the broader market fluctuations of cryptocurrencies.
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