XRP price has come under heavy selling pressure following the U.S. Senate’s failure to advance the CLARITY Act, but an interesting on-chain development is providing a different perspective on the token’s recent performance.
According to data shared by Santiment, the number of XRP Ledger addresses holding at least 1 million XRP remains elevated despite the latest market turbulence. The same metric recorded a substantial increase just before XRP’s explosive August rally.
While the data does not guarantee another recovery, it raises an important question: are large XRP holders maintaining their positions even as the broader market struggles?
What you'll learn 👉
85 New Million-XRP Wallets Appeared Before the August Rally
Santiment’s latest chart reveals that 85 new addresses holding at least 1 million XRP appeared just two days before the token’s 67% rally between August 17 and August 21.
The analytics platform notes that large wallets can have a considerable influence on market liquidity because of the amounts of XRP they control.
The timing of the increase is particularly interesting. The number of million-XRP addresses jumped before the price rally began, rather than simply following XRP higher.
However, an increase in large-wallet counts does not necessarily mean 85 new investors entered the market. Existing holders can redistribute their coins across multiple addresses, while exchange and custody wallets can also affect the metric.
The chart establishes that the number of qualifying addresses increased before the rally, but it cannot prove that those wallets caused the subsequent price increase.
Santiment’s Chart Shows Whale Numbers Are Still Elevated
The most important detail is what happened after the August breakout.
Santiment’s chart tracks XRP’s price alongside the number of addresses holding at least 1 million tokens from March through September 2026.
Before the August rally, the large-wallet count was hovering around 2,030. It then jumped above 2,120 as XRP began its powerful advance.
The count subsequently pulled back from its peak but remained relatively stable throughout late August and early September.
At the chart’s latest reading, approximately 2,117 addresses still hold at least 1 million XRP.
Meanwhile, XRP’s price has retreated considerably from its August highs. The chart’s final price reading is approximately $1.38, although that snapshot predates the latest market decline.
This creates a notable divergence: XRP has surrendered a substantial portion of its rally, but the number of million-XRP addresses has not returned to its pre-breakout level.
That could indicate that large-wallet participation remains elevated. Nevertheless, wallet counts alone cannot establish whether these holders are accumulating, selling portions of their balances or simply maintaining enough XRP to remain above the 1 million threshold.
CLARITY Act Setback Adds Pressure to XRP Price
The on-chain data comes at a difficult moment for XRP.
The U.S. Senate failed to advance the CLARITY Act on September 15 after the procedural vote fell short of the required 60 votes.
The legislation was intended to establish clearer rules for the broader cryptocurrency market, and its failure to advance has created additional uncertainty for investors.
Pro-Ripple attorney Bill Morgan has argued that XRP stood to benefit considerably from the legislation, not simply because of its own legal status but because institutions considering XRP-related products also need regulatory certainty across the wider crypto industry.
That provides one possible explanation for XRP’s particularly negative reaction to the setback, although broader market selling and Federal Reserve uncertainty are also relevant.
Importantly, the failed procedural vote does not mean the CLARITY Act has been permanently defeated. Lawmakers could still attempt to reconsider the legislation, although the remaining legislative calendar presents an obstacle.
Read also: CLARITY Act Isn’t Dead Yet: XRP and Crypto Will Get Another Chance
Ripple’s XRPL Developments Add Another Long-Term Angle
Santiment also points to developments surrounding the XRP Ledger as part of its constructive longer-term outlook.
These include a Ripple-backed RLUSD credit fund focused on fintech and payments lending, alongside investments involving ZILO and Licuido that the analytics platform associates with tokenization, transfer-agency services and collateral mobility.
Such initiatives could broaden the financial infrastructure and applications connected to the XRP Ledger.
However, increased RLUSD activity or tokenization does not automatically translate into equivalent demand for XRP. The token is used for network fees and reserve requirements, but the economic benefit to XRP depends on how these services operate and whether their growth creates meaningful additional token demand.
For now, these developments provide context for XRPL’s broader expansion rather than proof that XRP’s price must rise.
What Does This Mean for XRP Price?
The latest Santiment data offers a potentially constructive counterpoint to XRP’s recent decline.
The number of addresses holding at least 1 million XRP remains around 2,117, well above the levels recorded immediately before the August rally. That indicates the large-wallet count has retained much of its earlier increase even as the price has weakened.
But there is a crucial distinction between an elevated wallet count and a fresh buying signal.
The chart does not show another sudden increase comparable to the 85-wallet jump that preceded August’s breakout. Instead, the metric has largely stabilized at higher levels.
Our view is that the data gives XRP holders a reason to monitor large-wallet behavior, but it is not enough to call a market bottom.
A renewed increase in million-XRP addresses, accompanied by improving price action and stronger broader-market conditions, would provide more convincing evidence of a potential recovery.
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