Prominent crypto analyst Ali Martinez has issued a bearish warning for XRP, suggesting the token could slide toward $0.98 if large investors accelerate selling. In his latest assessment, Martinez highlighted cooling on-chain activity, pointing to a decline in XRP Ledger wallets holding between 10 million and 100 million XRP. Over recent weeks, that cohort shrank from 351 to 339 wallets, a drop of 12 large holders that may indicate distribution by whales.
At the same time, exchange balances have climbed. The total amount of XRP held on trading platforms rose from 11.003 billion to approximately 11.05 billion XRP, an increase of roughly 50 million XRP, and remained elevated over the past week. Martinez warned that this shift of supply from large wallets to exchanges could increase the available sell-side liquidity and add pressure on price.
From a technical perspective, the analyst identified $1.26 as a pivotal support level, marking the lower boundary of a price channel that has been forming since August. A confirmed break below that level could initially push XRP to $1.11. If downside momentum continues, the channel structure suggests a deeper target around $0.98, representing a potential loss of about 22% from the $1.26 support. Martinez’s bearish scenario rests on three factors: falling large-wallet counts, elevated exchange reserves, and the risk of losing the $1.26 support level.
