XRP Longs Crushed on Binance as Analyst Flags Ripple Co-Founder’s $140M Sell-Off

Ripple’s XRP is under pressure after a wave of long liquidations rocked Binance this week, sparked by growing speculation around major token dumps by Ripple co-founder Chris Larsen.

According to on-chain investigator ZachXBT, Larsen-linked wallets offloaded 50 million XRP, valued at about $175 million, to multiple addresses starting July 17, with around $140 million allegedly hitting centralized exchanges.

Sell-Off Allegations and Market Impact

The timing of the transfers coincided with a sharp decline in XRP’s price and one of the year’s largest long liquidations, raising concerns about internal dumping just days after the asset set a new all-time high.

In a July 24 post on X, ZachXBT claimed that wallets connected to Larsen had moved tens of millions of XRP over a period beginning July 17, with four primary recipient addresses absorbing the bulk of the tokens.

According to him, the largest transfers included 30 million and 10 million XRP to addresses that later funneled funds into centralized services. He estimated that wallets under the reclusive co-founder’s control still hold over 2.8 billion XRP, worth approximately $8.4 billion.

This alleged sell-off correlates quite closely with XRP’s sharp price decline. After pumping over 50% in a week to smash its 2018 all-time high, reaching a record $3.65 on July 18, the asset entered consolidation.

The bearish turn began in earnest on July 23. Pseudonymous blockchain researcher and CQ analyst Darkfost noted that Binance saw a spike in XRP long liquidations on that date, when the asset plummeted nearly 10% in 24 hours, extending the drop to roughly 19% from its July 21 level.

This triggered automatic forced closures for traders using leverage to bet on price increases, with data showing XRP tumbling from nearly $3.60 to under $3.05 within hours on July 23/24.

While it has recovered slightly to trade around $3.11, down 14% over the past week, the damage was severe. According to Darkfost, around 2.3 million XRP, worth $7.3 million, were liquidated on Binance, marking the third-largest liquidation event of the year for the world’s third-biggest cryptocurrency.

Analyst Divergence

Despite the correction and liquidation carnage, several prominent analysts have urged for perspective. John Squire, referencing the catastrophic 2018 crash where XRP fell from $3.40 to $0.25, downplayed the July 24 drop, calling it merely “a coffee break” and advising investors to “stay calm” and “HODL tight.”

Analyst Armando Pantoja echoed this sentiment on social media, labeling the move “just a healthy pullback” and reiterating ambitious short-term prices of up to $4.10 and year-end highs between $8 and $12.

Adding weight to the bullish counter-narrative, chartist Ali Martinez highlighted significant whale accumulation, revealing that large investors had purchased over 280 million XRP in the last ten days.