XRP Short-Term Holders Are Dumping – Here’s Why Their Exposure Just Crashed

Short-term XRP holders are hitting the sell button. On-chain data reveals a sharp, coordinated drop in exposure—a move that's flashing warning signs across trading desks.

The Great Unload

Forget gradual profit-taking. This looks like a strategic retreat. Wallets holding XRP for less than 155 days—the classic swing trader cohort—are rapidly lightening their bags. The metrics don't lie: their collective stake in the asset is shrinking, fast. It's a clear pivot from accumulation to distribution.

What's Sparking the Sell-Off?

Three forces are likely at play. First, regulatory overhang—the ghost of lawsuits past—still haunts price action, making short-term gains a smarter play than long-term bets for many. Second, opportunity cost. With other altcoins flashing bigger percentage moves, capital is chasing momentum elsewhere. Finally, there's the classic 'sell the news' fatigue; without a fresh, market-moving catalyst, patience wears thin.

The Ripple Effect

This isn't just about paper hands getting spooked. A sustained reduction in short-term holder supply can increase volatility. These traders typically provide liquidity; their exit leaves the market thinner, prone to sharper swings on larger orders. It also transfers more tokens into the hands of long-term holders, potentially locking up liquidity and cementing a new, higher price floor—after the shakeout.

The move underscores a brutal truth in crypto: narrative is temporary, but the flow of capital is permanent. While evangelists preach the future of payments, the charts are telling a simpler story—traders are taking money off the table, proving once again that in digital assets, 'long-term vision' often lasts only as long as the next profitable trade.

A Dip In XRP Short-Term Holder Exposure

XRP may have gained brief upward traction, but short-term holders’ sentiment appears to be moving into a cautious state. From an on- chain standpoint, these key investors are currently stepping back, trimming their positions after several weeks of choppy price action and weakening momentum.

As observed in the XRP HODL Waves chart shared by Steph is Crypto, a market expert and investor, short-term holders have begun to reduce their exposure in the leading altcoin. This shift in sentiment is present among wallet addresses that purchased the token over the past week and month.

Such a development points to a cooling of speculative zeal, with supply held by these addresses known for their high turnover rate showing a discernible decline. Given the altcoin continues to face sideways price action, this shift strongly resembles profit-taking from the cohort in order to manage risk and cut their losses.

Steph is Crypto highlighted that the share of the total XRP supply held by these investors has fallen from 5.75 to 4.9% in just 7 days. While the pullback may seem small, the shift has the potential to reshape sentiment around the altcoin and its price dynamics in the upcoming weeks.

This is due to the fact that these investors are often one of the most reactive groups in the market. Once positions start to MOVE into profit territory, the cohort tends to sell off their coins at a swift rate. With short-term holders going on a selling spree, the focus now is on whether institutional players and longer-term holdings will withstand the sell-side pressure.

However, while short-term players are exiting, large holders, also regarded as whales, are stepping back in at a significant rate. This implies that deep-pocket investors are exhibiting renewed conviction in the altcoin’s long-term prospects.

According to the report from Steph is Crypto, whales, particularly wallet addresses holding between 1,000,000 XRP and 100,000,000 XRP, recently acquired an additional 60 million XRP in a single day. After a period of relative quiet, the cohort seems to have moved back into accumulation mode. 

Leading The Charge In Asia

Demand for XRP is growing in the Asian region, as a report from X Finance Bull shows that the altcoin dominated bitcoin in South Korea. Data from Upbit reveals that the token was the most traded asset of 2025 across the most active retail market on Earth. 

This is beyond price speculation. It is a testament to the altcoin’s increasing volume, liquidity, and usage. The XRP/KRW was ranked in the top spot most of the year, with Upbit executing over $1 trillion in trades.  According to the expert, this is an important landmark because real markets reveal truth, and South Korea interacts with trades that work.