XRP Whales Extract 231 Million Tokens from Binance in Six-Month Record

XRP (XRP) has risen 11% in the past week as a broader rally boosts major cryptocurrencies. Among the 10 largest coins by market cap, only Solana (SOL) and Hyperliquid (HYPE) have recorded stronger gains.

Yet the market is flashing mixed signals. Large holders are moving tokens off exchanges while futures data indicates traders are betting against the uptrend.

Largest Whale Outflows in Half a Year

Darkfost reported that large holders pulled 231 million XRP from Binance. The withdrawal was the biggest seen in six months.

Those outflows surpassed $335 million in a single day. According to Darkfost's data, the 90-day average is closer to $40 million.

Whale withdrawals reduce the amount of coins available for immediate sale on exchanges. They do not by themselves confirm a purchase, as coins can be moved into custody for other reasons.

Significantly, the withdrawals arrived during a sharp price recovery. Darkfost estimated XRP's gain over that stretch at roughly 70%.

“Should this accumulation dynamic continue, XRP could test the $2 mark…” he said.

Derivatives Traders Bet Against the Rally

The same analyst noted a conflicting signal in the derivatives market, where traders appeared to ramp up bearish bets.

Binance's net taker volume hit its strongest sell-side imbalance of 2026, reaching -$96 million. That reading shows that aggressive sellers far outnumbered buyers, even as XRP climbed back above $1.

Meanwhile, XRP's open interest on Binance rose roughly 14.8%. The combination of heavy selling and climbing open interest suggests new short positions may have been entering the market. If the selling had come mainly from traders closing existing long positions, open interest would typically have fallen instead.

Together, the data points to a buildup of bearish positioning in derivatives, though it does not conclusively prove every new position was a short.

“A real tug-of-war is now underway between spot demand and derivatives selling pressure. For now, XRP is holding above $1.40, but the outcome of this struggle will be decisive for its next price move,” the post read.

That leaves the two sides of the market pulling against each other. Spot holders absorb the supply while leveraged traders position for a decline.