A dramatic event has unfolded as a direct result of former President Donald Trump’s latest executive order: a major player in the cryptocurrency market is now desperately trying to save a huge short position on XRP . The whale, who has for months been betting that XRP would take a nosedive, has just poured an enormous $8 million in $USDC margin into the position to avoid liquidation. Yet the position is still showing a loss—one that has now exceeded $4.6 million—as the price of XRP continues to shoot upward. After #Trump 's executive order, a whale is rushing to close his $XRP short position and added 8M $USDC in margin to avoid liquidation. Currently, his 20x leveraged short $XRP position still has a loss of more than $4.6M. https://t.co/W6bdudZonN pic.twitter.com/8Kq5nRm7tS — Lookonchain (@lookonchain) March 2, 2025 The action comes as the price of XRP unexpectedly surges, boosted by Trump’s executive order and the positive vibe in the cryptocurrency market. The order, dealing with the US crypto scene, seems to have kicked off a rally across many digital assets, including XRP. But as this rally progresses, large XRP holders are divesting themselves of the asset, which is doing nothing to assuage the growing unease of various market players. XRP Whale Moves Amid Market Shifts The whale’s choice to add $8 million in margin to their $XRP short position is meaningful for two reasons: 1. It speaks to the gravity of the situation. 2. It means the whale’s bet was highly sensitive to market movements, amplifying both potential profits and losses. If you’re going to hold 20x leveraged short position on an asset, you’d better have a plan and be prepared to add significant margin when needed. Otherwise, your position risks going very much “underwater” (when an asset price moves in the opposite direction to what you expected and paid for it) and leading to a big liquidation. XRP has surged by over 500% since November 2024, but now its massive rally seems to have triggered a wave of selling from large holders—”whales”—who are cashing out at record levels. What does this mean for the price of XRP, and why are its large holders now liquidating their positions? Some speculate that—as the present price action suggests—XRP may be entering a “local distribution phase,” during which the token’s large holders seek to shed their positions. The Trump Executive Order’s Ripple Effect on XRP Trump’s executive order appears to have given a new boost to the world’s interest in cryptocurrencies. That interest has spilled over into a closer look at the order’s potential effects on XRP price action, and it has started to feel like a net positive for folks who are in XRP’s corner. This surge, however, is leading market participants to reassess their positions. As stated earlier, some large XRP holders have been selling, and the recent run-up in price seems to have intensified this behavior. The unloading of such large amounts of XRP by these so-called whales could be taken to signal that the price has reached a level where these holders are opting to take profits, possibly ahead of a price pullback. XRP in a Local Distribution Phase: What Does It Mean for Investors? The phrase “local distribution phase” in cryptocurrency markets means a time when big investors start to reduce their holdings, often after a big price run-up. We see this distribution very clearly in the price action of Bitcoin over the last couple of months. In these first days of September, for instance, the price of Bitcoin dropped to around $25,000 after quite a spacious range of oscillation above the $30,000 mark. Whales taking profits threaten to push XRP down. In XRP’s case, the 500% rally from November 2024 has provided the perfect environment for whales to unload at a substantial profit. In the way that the perfect storm shifts the balance of nature, the executive order and broader market developments have contributed to the surge. $XRP whales are unloading at record levels! Large holders have been aggressively selling since the price rallied over 500% from November. $XRP seems to be in a local distribution phase right now. pic.twitter.com/NgaOoiZkWX — Miles Deutscher (@milesdeutscher) March 3, 2025 Yet, whales selling signal the opposite of what we’re looking for if we want XRP’s price to keep going up. This situation underscores the necessity of caution for investors. When XRP’s large holders are selling, the big hump on the distribution curve shifts to the left. Signaling that the near-term trajectory for this altcoin is uncertain, with indications that it might drop soon, is dangerous for those buying this in the hopes of a price rise. That makes it even more uncertain if Ripple’s recent uptrend (if you can call it that) will continue. The Future Outlook for XRP XRP’s destiny is interwoven with sentiment in the marketplace and the regulatory scene, especially in the United States. Trump’s executive order and the more general appearance of police and order in the regulatory landscape could determine if XRP’s recent uptick is the start of a new trend up or if XRP will get whacked again and head downward with more force. Currently, the market is quite unsettled. Big shareholders keep selling their XRP, and the whale who has been betting against the asset is seeing his losses pile up. For XRP, the next chore is to finish this local distribution phase and set the stage for another run at overcoming the overhead resistance found at the 30-cent level. Until then, the price will probably remain unstable between 24 and 30 cents. XRP holders must remain watchful and take into account the overall market situation and the conduct of big-time investors (often called “whales”) when considering how much and how quickly the price of XRP might change. That is because these big investors can—and do—move the market, for XRP and for other cryptocurrencies. Disclosure: This is not trading or investment advice. Always do your research before buying any cryptocurrency or investing in any services. Follow us on Twitter @nulltxnews to stay updated with the latest Crypto, NFT, AI, Cybersecurity, Distributed Computing, and Metaverse news ! Image Source: kentoh/ 123RF // Image Effects by Colorcinch
