What to know:
- XRP adoption surges as retail holders hit record highs while whales reduce exposure.
- Transaction activity on the XRP Ledger triples within a year, reflecting growing usage.
- Market remains cautious: price stable, long/short ratios indicate leveraged bullish bets.
XRP’s price has stabilized, and the market is speculating whether it has hit a bottom. Large holders have reduced their XRP holdings, but small holders have increased, reflecting a rise in adoption. XRP’s transaction count is also going up, reflecting a rise in use, though the price is not moving much.
At the time of writing, XRP is trading at $1.44, with a 24-hour trading volume of $1.86 billion and a market capitalization of $88.57 billion. The price has seen a modest 0.28% increase over the last 24 hours.
Source: CoinMarketCap
XRP Bottom Yet to Come
In a post on March 21, 2026, crypto analyst Joao Wedson, from Alphractal, raised an uncomfortable question, asking the XRP community whether the bottom is in yet. Using the “Number of Days Spent at a Profit” metric, Wedson believes that the price of XRP is yet to fall to extreme levels, which is common in a cycle low.
Source: Joao Wedson’s X Post
“XRP remains below key zones,” Wedson said. This statement by Wedson shows the market might need more time, and even a further decline, before a similar low point is created as in the past. This is because XRP is still below the long-term averages.
XRP Retail Holders Surge Record
Data provided by the analytics platform Santiment shows changes in XRP’s distribution. Currently, on March 21, there are 5.66 million XRP Ledger wallets with less than 100 XRP. This is a new record. The number of mid-tier XRP holders, who have between 100 and 100,000 XRP, is 2.01 million. The number of whales with more than 100,000 XRP has declined to 32,054.
Source: Santiment X Post
This trend is indicative of increasing retail participation as large holders continue to decrease their exposure as a result of a decrease in prices from their highs of $3.00 and above. Whether it is a move of profit-taking or strategic distribution is still questionable.
XRP Adoption Soars Despite Price Disconnect
Asheesh Birla, CEO of Evernorth, spoke of the frustration regarding the disconnect between XRP adoption and its price, noting that XRP is still in the process of developing as a liquidity bridge, which is the main use case for XRP that has the potential for consistent demand from institutions.
Source: Asheesh Birla’s X Post
Transaction activity on the XRP ledger increased from 1 million per day in the middle of 2025 to almost 3 million per day in March 2026, a near-triple in less than a year. Institutional use is growing, but not as fast as daily user activity.
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Market Activity and Positioning
Looking at derivatives, the Binance platform that the majority of the leveraged accounts are betting on price increases. The long/short ratio is at 2.55 overall, and for the top accounts, it’s even higher at 2.81. At OKX, it’s at 1.51.
According to Coinglass data, open interest, which was as high as $10 billion in January 2026, has declined to current levels of around $2 to $3 billion, indicating a phase of de-risking following the price increase. Similarly, 24-hour trading volumes have normalized after increasing in late 2025.
Source: Coinglass
The current market is essentially digesting the recent gains, with some holding patiently and possibly waiting for an opportunity to sell. The question still remains as to whether XRP has found a new base for its price, but it is certainly progressing with its adoption.
This article contains market analysis and price predictions. These are not guarantees. Crypto markets are volatile. Always DYOR. Not financial advice.
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