Why is the XRP price rising?

The accumulation of XRP whales and cooling of inflation in the United States are the primary catalysts for the continued recovery in cryptocurrency prices.

The price of XRP (XRP) is rising today, gaining more than 2% over the past 24 hours to $0.525. In the process, the cryptocurrency is now up about 25% from its local low of $0.423 set a month ago.

The main catalysts driving XRP’s price higher today include broader recovery sentiment across the cryptocurrency market and accumulation by whales.

US inflation report sends XRP and other cryptocurrencies soaring

XRP’s gains today are part of a rebound that began after the U.S. Consumer Price Index (CPI) reported cooling inflation on May 15.

U.S. core inflation rose 0.3% to 3.6% in March, the lowest reading excluding food and energy since April 2021. In response, bond traders increased their bets on the first rate cut this year from November to September, according to CME data.

Since the CPI release, XRP’s price has risen 5%, suggesting that the prospect of rate cuts has boosted investor interest in crypto assets.

XRP whales buy $55 million worth of tokens

Today’s rise in XRP’s price further coincides with signs of accumulation by the wealthiest investors, also known as “whales.”

According to data resource platform Santiment, entities with balances between 1 million and 10 million XRP have increased their holdings by 110 million tokens (worth about $55 million) in the past two weeks, as shown in the chart below shared by analyst Ali Martinez.

During this period, XRP’s price has risen by about 10%, indicating that there is strong whale support behind the rally.

Giant symmetrical triangle pattern

From a technical perspective, XRP’s rise is part of a rebound that began after testing the lower trendline of its multi-year descending triangle pattern.

XRP price is expected to close below the 200-week (blue) and 50-week (red) exponential moving averages (EMA) at around $0.525 and $0.550 as of May 18. Doing so could see the cryptocurrency test the upper trendline of the triangle at around $0.585 as the next upside target.

The 0.585 target acted as support during May-June 2021 and January 2022.

This article does not contain investment advice or recommendations. Every investment and trading action involves risk and readers should do their own research when making a decision.