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XRP, the third largest cryptocurrency by market capitalization, has seen a massive price gain, reaching a near-seven-year high of $2.90, last seen in January 2018.

Large holders, referred to as whales, have been moving XRP at an unprecedented rate, with on-chain analytics platform CryptoQuant reporting substantial XRP whale activity.

In a recent analysis, CryptoQuant stated that "Since its launch, XRP has never captured the attention of whales to this extent," adding that "XRP whale activity has reached an all-time high."

At the time of writing, XRP was up 15.23% in the last 24 hours to $2.71, having reached intraday highs of $2.90 during today's trading session. XRP has marked six consecutive days of gains since Nov. 27, with the market eying the $3 price target next. 

Weekly, XRP is up 106%, and it has gained 440% in the last 30 days. Large holders, or whales, seem to be playing a key role in contributing to XRP's recent massive price rise. 

According to Ki Young Ju, CEO of cryptoQuant, Coinbase whales may be fueling the XRP boom, as Coinbase's minute-level price premium has varied between 3% and 13% over the previous 30 days. Meanwhile, Upbit, a Korean exchange with more XRP investors than Binance, demonstrated no significant premium.

XRP whales accumulating 

On-chain analytics firm Santiment recently reported that wallets with 1 million to 10 million XRP have accumulated 679.1 million tokens, currently worth $1.66 billion, in the last three weeks. In addition, the total number of nonempty XRP wallets has surpassed 5.5 million for the first time in the coin's eight-year lifetime.

Ali, a crypto analyst, highlighted that XRP whales bought an additional 160 million XRP over the weekend, valued at around $380 million. 

In a recent tweet, Santiment stated that network growth is robust across multiple altcoins, including the XRP Ledger. On Sunday alone, XRP received 22,357 new wallets.

The effect might be in the short term, and prices may be volatile due to increased retail engagement. However, it is a promising sign in the long term to see rising levels of utility on any asset's blockchain.