How Whale Interest May Unleash XRP Longs This Week
As of the beginning of the third week of January, total liquidity in the market reached nearly $900 million. The negative volatility caused by the impact of Trump's tariffs on the EU caused a sharp increase. The figure could rise further as several altcoins are showing warning signs.
XRP, Axie Infinity (AXS) and Dusk (DUSK) are attracting capital this week for various reasons. However, without rigorous risk management plans they can become pitfalls for investors.
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1. XRP
On January 19, XRP dropped to $1.85 before recovering to $1.95. The downturn has canceled out much of the recovery effort since the start of the year.
Short-term traders are on the rise. Many play for the more negative side. The 7-day liquidity chart shows that short liquidity can weigh on long positions.
Liquidity data suggests that if XRP returns to $2.29 this week, short positions could face more than $600 million in liquidity.
That could happen if concerns over Trump's new tariffs fade quickly. Strong buying interest at the $1.8 level also supports a rebound.
Another key metric is the average order size of the XRP score. CryptoQuant data shows that when XRP trades below $2.4, large whale orders are more common. This pattern shows strong whale demand at low price levels.
“Whale interest is high in 2026. Large orders are dominating the tapes, which suggests that “smart money” will lead the next leg to the upside. – Commented a CryptoQuant analyst.
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If whale stocks overcome the market's temporary fears, XRP could recover quickly. Such a move forces short traders into liquidation.
2. Axie Infinity (AXS)
Axie Infinity (AXS) suddenly returned to the top trending list in the third week of January. The token has gained over 120% year-to-date.
The January rally was led by the Axi founders' plan to convert the rewards into a new utility token called bAXS. This change is part of a wider tokonomics reform planned for 2026.
AXS's 7-day liquidity map shows similar potential liquidity around $12 million. However, the price range required to liquidate long positions is narrower than that of shorts. This shows that many traders still expect more growth in the short term.
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On the other hand, data shows that AXS's January rally coincided with a significant increase in foreign exchange reserves. The 7-day average number of deposit transactions hit a three-year high.
This trend indicates that many investors are looking to exit as prices recover, which could lead to selling pressure at any time. Such growth can endanger long positions.
3. DUSK
In the evening, it emerged as a new highlight to increase the demand for privacy coins. The rally reflects a shift in capital from large-cap privacy coins to small-cap options.
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Despite a nearly six-fold increase since the start of the year, DUSK has sparked significant short-selling over the past four days. Short-term traders continue to increase capital and leverage on bullish bets.
The DUSK Liquidity Map shows that potential long liquids dominate. If the price corrects this week, long positions may be at risk.
A recent BeCrypto report highlights the increasing flow of DUSK to exchanges. This trend reflects profitable selling pressure. Additionally, DUSK is rallying as market fears return over Trump's new tariffs on Europe. These factors threaten the sustainability of the development.
DASH has grown sixfold since its capital switch from ZEC to low privacy coins in October last year. After that, DASH dropped by 60% in the following week. DUSK can have the same effect.
If the DUSK FOMO fades and the price drops below $0.13, total long-term liquidity could reach $12 million.
These three altcoins reflect very different and even opposing expectations among short-term traders. This complexity stems from geopolitical pressures that conflict with internal market dynamics. In the absence of strict stop-loss strategies, liquidation losses can hit both long and short positions.
