XRP Price Being Manipulated? XRPL Validator Shares Scathing Blockchain Findings

An XRPL validator operating under the name Grapedrop, or Grape, has published data that he claims shows patterns of trading activity manipulation capable of influencing the price of XRP. The data, which was first posted on the social media platform X, includes screenshots from the XRPL Console and examples of live transactions, forming what the validator described as a clear on-ledger footprint of unusually large and repetitive transfers between exchange addresses.

Validator Alleges Wash Trading Patterns On The XRP Ledger

Out of roughly 1,000 XRPL nodes in existence, about 150 to 170 are active validators, and Grape’s node is one of them. Grape confirmed that he has been operating a validator since July 12, 2025, which has given him real-time oversight of transactions on the network. Interestingly, Grape stated that his findings are the result of systematic tracking using a custom Python tool that is designed to monitor and flag payments above 10,000 XRP. 

Since activating his validator, he has documented thousands of such high-value movements, often involving popular crypto exchanges like Bitget and Binance. His flagged transactions include examples such as 49,900 XRP, 67,655 XRP, and 146,757 XRP, with similar transfers recorded multiple times per hour and thousands of volumes a day.

The destinations and sources of these payments often connect to exchange-controlled wallets. However, the volume and frequency are standing well above the normal retail activity. The screenshots shared show consistent high-value movements to and from these crypto exchanges. 

An example is shown in the Console data below. Transactions include 3,018,977.72 XRP, 460,119 XRP, and 146,757.57 XRP, originating from one Binance-controlled wallet to another. This trend is more of an organized pattern rather than normal trading activity among traders.

Is The XRP Price Being Manipulated?

Grape explained that XRP’s price is often calculated using volume-weighted averages. As such, repeatedly moving large volumes between exchanges can inflate these volume figures and manipulate the calculations of market cap.

This activity, referred to as wash trading, is done to create an impression of artificial demand, which in turn tricks other people or other automated bots into buying into the crypto.

Responses to the findings by the XRPL validator have been divided, but most comments on his social media posts seem to agree with the manipulation explanation. One of the responses came from “Crypto Bitlord,” an account with over 415,000 followers on the social media platform. “It seems pretty accurate. And what you found in a short time imagine what you’ll find over time,” he said.

In response, Grape noted that an enhanced version to deeply analyze and identify XRP price manipulation is currently being developed. 

Grapedrop’s findings certainly raise concern, but they stop short of actually proving price manipulation. At the time of writing, XRP is trading at $3.27, up by 1.5% in the past 24 hours.