XRP, the Ripple-affiliated cryptocurrency, has logged a significant uptick in whale activity, according to data provided by cryptocurrency analytics platform Santiment. 

Apart from whale activity, the controversial token has also seen an increase in social media hype and transaction volume.

In fact, XRP's transaction volume recently reached a new eight-month high of $2.39 billion. 

This came after Bitwise, a prominent cryptocurrency asset manager, submitted a filing to launch an XRP-based exchange-traded fund in the U.S. 

Even though multiple experts agree that the approval of such a product is not going to happen anytime soon, this was viewed as a sign of XRP gaining more legitimacy. 

According to Santiment, the rally is most likely to begin once the current crowd FOMO calms.

Unfortunately for XRP holders, the ETF filing did not translate into significant gains for the token. In fact, it ended up being in the red on the day when the filing was submitted. 

On Wednesday, XRP bulls suffered a significant blow due to the SEC appealing the Ripple case. The token ended up among the worst-performing cryptocurrencies in the CoinGecko top 100. 

XRP is down a whopping 15% over the past 24 hours, currently trading at $0.51. The Ripple-affiliated cryptocurrency is currently valued at $28.9 billion. 

Deribit's options traders recently turned more bearish on XRP following the SEC appeal news. 

Even though the ruling is not expected to be overturned in the near future, the fact that Ripple will remain embroidered in its legal battle with the SEC is viewed as a major bearish factor.