XRP has collapsed from $2.40 in January to $1.00-$1.20 today, yet large holders keep buying. Not aggressively. Not with fanfare. Just steady accumulation that leaves the market unmoved, according to onchain data from CryptoQuant. The pattern suggests these whales see value but lack conviction strong enough to push price higher.
Spot order sizes from major holders have remained in "big-whale" territory throughout 2026. Meanwhile, the metric that tracks whether buyers or sellers are driving trades has drifted from buy-dominant to neutral. This is what CryptoQuant calls quiet absorption. Not capitulation, where panic selling forces a bottom. Not a breakout, where conviction builds momentum. Just basing, the sideways grind before direction returns.
Ether tells a different story. It trades around $1,900 while the average holder paid $2,450 to acquire their coins. The aggregate holder base sits underwater. Bitcoin, by contrast, runs 17% above its realized cost at roughly $52,900. XRP sits near $1.10 against a realized price around $0.75. Ether alone trades below cost basis across all holders combined, and CryptoQuant warns the market may need one more leg lower before a durable floor forms.
That underwater position matters because it reveals where actual pain lives. Ether holders are the only ones watching their portfolios bleed on paper. Bitcoin and XRP holders, even those who bought near the top, can tell themselves they're still ahead. The psychology of that gap shapes who sells next and who holds. For traders watching valuation, ether's depressed valuation offers the strongest case among the three major assets, though the firm cautions that conviction among holders remains fractured.
This is market analysis, not investment advice. Cryptocurrency trading carries substantial risk. Do your own research before making positions.
