XRP Whale Places $224k Bet on Flat Price Ahead of US Clarity Act Vote

A trader on Deribit sold 1.5 million call and put contracts at the $1.40 strike, pocketing about $224,500 in premiums and keeping the profit if XRP stays near that level through June 26 [1]. The “short strangle” was executed as a single‑block OTC trade, a move usually reserved for whales or institutions that want to avoid moving the market price.

The wager arrives amid rising macro pressure on risky assets and a looming vote on the Senate Banking Committee’s Clarity Act, a bill that would codify the SEC‑CFTC commodity classification of XRP into federal law. Ripple’s chief legal officer called the committee’s markup a “monumental outcome” for the 67 million American crypto holders the bill aims to protect [1]. If the bill passes, institutional investors could pour billions into XRP ETFs, potentially eroding the $3 billion sell wall that has kept the token capped near $1.45 [2].

On‑chain data shows whale activity building despite the price hovering below $1.45. Santiment reports a record 332,230 wallets holding at least 10,000 XRP, up from 317,000 in November 2025, and the top‑tier “million‑plus” wallets added a net 42 new addresses in 2026, accumulating 1.2 billion XRP in Q1—the highest quarterly total since 2023 [2]. Yet most of that supply sits around a $1.44‑$1.46 cost basis, creating a dense cluster of sellers ready to exit if prices rise above $1.45 [2].

The clash between the low‑volatility bet and the growing whale accumulation highlights a pivotal fork. If the Clarity Act clears the Senate, the expected influx of institutional capital could absorb the sell wall, pushing XRP toward $1.65‑$1.80 and validating the whales’ long‑term positioning. Conversely, a stalled bill would likely keep XRP trapped in the $1.30‑$1.44 range, leaving the short‑strangle trader’s bet intact but the broader upside unrealized. The market now watches the June 14 vote as the decisive moment for both the derivative wager and the next phase of XRP’s price trajectory.