After weeks of sideways movement and declining volatility, XRP is showing signs of life once again. The recent liquidity sweep and the break of key technical levels suggest a potential shift in momentum.

However, bulls still face several overhead resistances that could determine whether this is a short-term relief rally or the beginning of a more sustained uptrend.

By ShayanMarkets

The USDT Pair

On the daily chart, XRP has bounced strongly after sweeping the sell-side liquidity below the $2 level. That sweep was followed by a strong bullish engulfing candle, signalling aggressive buying interest from that zone.

The price has since reclaimed the 100-day moving average and is currently testing the 200-day MA and the descending resistance of the multi-month descending channel around $2.40.

A clean breakout above this zone could open the door toward the $3 resistance cluster. If momentum continues, bulls may even eye a rally toward the major supply area near $4.

However, failure to break this structure could result in another retracement back to the $1.60 demand zone. If that level breaks again without a new higher high, the structure would remain bearish. The RSI at 58 is also neutral-bullish, supporting a short-term continuation move, but not yet signalling overbought conditions.

The BTC Pair

XRP/BTC is still trading inside the descending wedge and hasn’t confirmed a breakout yet. The pair is hovering just beneath the wedge’s upper boundary and the key resistance zone at 2100 SAT, which is just below the 100 and 200 EMAs.

Despite several attempts to push higher, it has failed to break and close above this confluence. Until that happens, the downtrend structure remains intact, and the wedge is still in play.

If a rejection follows, we could see another drop toward the lower boundary near 1800 SAT. Moreover, the RSI sitting around the neutral 50 level signals indecision, making a confirmed breakout or rejection crucial for the next move.

Two Bitcoin (BTC) wallets that had been untouched for over 14 years suddenly moved their entire holdings of 20,000 BTC, worth around $2.18 billion, in a pair of rare transactions late Thursday.

On-chain data shared by Lookonchain shows that each wallet shifted 10,000 BTC within half an hour of each other, as they surprised market watchers who closely track such “Satoshi-era” movements.

Bitcoin OG Moves

The wallets originally received the bitcoin on April 3, 2011, when the price was just $0.78, meaning their holdings had appreciated by nearly 140,000 times since purchase.

At the time, the combined stash was worth about $15,600. The identity of the wallet owner or owners remains unknown, and it is unclear why the funds were moved now after over a decade of dormancy.

Such large, aged movements are rare and often trigger speculation about early miners, lost wallets being recovered, or potential institutional-grade sales. Although there has been no indication yet of a sell-off. In fact, Bitcoin’s price remained stable following the move, as it held above $108,000.

Market analysts are watching whether the world’s largest cryptocurrency can build enough momentum to test its record highs near $118,000 amidst the sudden reawakening of these early wallets.

“Rare and Meaningful On-Chain Footprint”

According to CryptoQuant, the transaction patterns suggest these movements are likely genuine transfers with the intention to trade, rather than internal wallet reorganizations or security-related address changes.

This event could even mark the largest on-chain transfer by holders inactive for over a decade, surpassing the previous record of 3,700 BTC moved during the market’s bottom following the FTX collapse. CryptoQuant, however, said that assuming all activity by old holders is automatically bearish for the market is incorrect and added,

“At this point, the intent behind today’s move remains unclear. What is clear, however, is that this is a rare and meaningful on-chain footprint – and one that could potentially signal increased volatility in the near future.”

TL;DR

• Shiba Inu leads in centralization: a setup that poses risks of sudden price swings and contradicts crypto’s decentralized ideals.

• SHIB shows mixed signals, as its price dips while burn activity surges by over 4,000% and tokens steadily flow out of exchanges, hinting at reduced sell pressure ahead.

SHIB is the Most Centralized?

According to a recent study conducted by Santiment, Shiba Inu’s top 10 wallets control a whopping 62% of the meme coin’s circulating supply.

The self-proclaimed Dogecoin-killers ranked first in that statistic, while the biggest stablecoin, USDT, came in second with 51.8%. Ethereum (ETH) is third, with its top 10 holders owning 49% of the supply, whereas PEPE is next with 39%. 

SHIB might lead on this front, but that doesn’t necessarily mean that its investors and proponents should pop the champagne and celebrate. Controlling a significant portion of the supply contradicts the decentralized spirit of the crypto industry. 

Additionally, this makes the asset more vulnerable to substantial price changes due to potential massive sell-offs or accumulation efforts. 

“As a retail trader, it’s generally safer to hold coins with less supply held by the most elite whales. There is less risk of sudden dumps or price manipulation should an asset’s largest whales decide to exit their positions,” Santiment warned.

SHIB Price Outlook

As of this writing, the price of the meme coin stands at around $0.00001159, which is a 3% decrease for the past day. Its market capitalization has slipped to just under $7 billion, making SHIB the 24th-biggest cryptocurrency in the entire market. 

Essential metrics, however, suggest that the price may be gearing up for a renewed rally. In the last 24 hours, the Shiba Inu team and community have burned over 13.4 million tokens, representing a 4,000% increase compared to the figure observed on July 3.

The ultimate goal of the burning mechanism is to reduce the supply of SHIB and potentially increase the asset’s value through scarcity. 

Next on the list is the decreased supply of Shiba Inu tokens on centralized exchanges. Over the past month, there has been an evident shift from such platforms toward self-custody methods, which reduces the immediate selling pressure.