Surge in Crypto Inflows Following Trump’s Announcement
In a significant turn of events, billions in XRP tokens and thousands of bitcoins were funneled into exchanges shortly after U.S. President Donald Trump disclosed his plans to incorporate these assets into a proposed U.S. crypto strategic reserve. This announcement may have played a pivotal role in the swift price reversals observed in the crypto market following an initial surge.
According to a report by the on-chain analysis firm CryptoQuant, hourly inflows of XRP peaked at a staggering 193 million tokens in the wake of Trump’s message. A substantial portion of these inflows originated from whales—influential holders who executed transactions of 1 million XRP or more. This trend illustrates the significant impact that major holders can have on market dynamics.
On the flip side, the influx of bitcoin (BTC) into exchanges saw a dramatic rise as well, with hourly amounts soaring from a range of 500-1,000 BTC to an astonishing high of 6,739 BTC a day after the announcement. Additionally, Ethereum (ETH) experienced a notable spike in inflows, with nearly 300,000 ETH entering exchanges within a single hour.
Typically, inflows to exchanges from traders and funds indicate a propensity to sell, as significant holdings are often kept in cold wallets—secure, offline storage solutions. CryptoQuant analysts highlighted that the rapid rise and subsequent fall of cryptocurrency values during Monday and Tuesday suggested that actual spot demand was still in a contraction phase.
According to analysts, “The apparent demand growth for Bitcoin has continued to decline after experiencing a period of acceleration between November and December 2024, which was triggered by the U.S. election outcomes. This decline marks the first time since September 2024 that demand has entered contraction territory.” They further noted, “Unless there is a resurgence in Bitcoin demand, maintaining a rally in crypto prices will pose significant challenges.”
The term apparent demand refers to an on-chain metric that assesses the balance between the production of Bitcoin—newly minted coins through mining—and any changes in its inventory, particularly coins that have remained inactive for over a year. Retail accumulation has seen a downturn since early November, as previously reported by CoinDesk.
