XRP Sees $35M Bot-Driven Buying as Whales Stay Divided

XRP is showing mixed signals from large investors in early 2026, as fresh buying meets ongoing selling pressure. The latest move, a rapid $35 million purchase executed through an automated trading bot, has added a new dimension to an already divided market.

Algorithmic Buying Spree Quietly Accumulates Massive XRP Position

An unidentified entity accumulated more than $35 million in XRP in less than an hour using a sophisticated algorithmic trading bot strategy. The system executed 156 identical buy orders of 10,000 XRP each, placing trades every 18.5 seconds across multiple platforms, including Coinbase, Bitstamp, and Kraken.

Rather than placing one large order, the strategy distributed purchases across exchanges to minimize price impact and avoid slippage. Coinbase alone handled over $23 million of the total volume, with similar activity mirrored on other platforms.

Market analyst Dom noted the unusual precision, saying this kind of execution is rarely seen and likely designed to build a large position quietly. Data also showed a sudden surge in buy volume, with Coinbase flipping from negative to strong positive territory within minutes, followed by similar moves on Kraken and Bitstamp.

Despite this aggressive accumulation, XRP continued to trade near $1.32, slipping on the day even as volume jumped.

XRP Whales Show Mixed Behavior

This bot-driven XRP whale activity comes as whale behavior remains divided. On one side, wallets holding between 100,000 and 100 million XRP added more than 110 million tokens in March, reflecting confidence at current levels.

On the other side, selling continues. Since January, around 3.8 billion XRP has moved to exchanges like Binance, pointing to profit-taking or reduced exposure by some large holders.

This back-and-forth has kept XRP trading within a narrow range between $1.30 and $1.50, limiting upside despite steady activity.

XRP Stays in Consolidation Phase

Wider data still shows interest from institutions and traders. Expectations around a potential XRP ETF remain high on prediction platforms, while long-term accumulation trends suggest ongoing positioning by major players.

However, with many holders still in the loss and signals from whales remaining mixed, the market lacks a clear direction. For now, XRP appears to be in a consolidation phase, with accumulation and distribution taking place simultaneously.

Reactions were mixed, with some traders questioning why such a large buy didn’t move the price higher, pointing to low sell-side liquidity. Analyst Dom responded that market makers likely absorbed the demand, keeping the price stable.

Others flagged calculation errors, but Dom clarified that the visible trades were just a pattern, while most of the $35M buy used smaller orders via a TWAP strategy. Some remained skeptical about its impact, saying much larger volumes are needed for a bullish change, while a few made speculative claims about timing cycles.