Ripple Partners with Bahrain Fintech Bay Amid XRP Whale Sell-Off

Ripple’s announcement of a strategic partnership with Bahrain Fintech Bay (BFB) represents a calculated move into one of the Middle East’s most progressive regulatory environments. The collaboration, revealed on October 9, positions Ripple to work with Bahrain’s leading fintech incubator to support the development of pilot projects, educational initiatives, and local events designed to attract investors and drive blockchain innovation. This partnership leverages Bahrain’s reputation as an early adopter of blockchain technology and one of the first global jurisdictions to formally regulate crypto assets.

Reece Merrick, Managing Director for Middle East and Africa at Ripple, emphasized the strategic importance of this move, noting that the company looks forward to “working with Bahrain Fintech Bay to continue laying the foundations for a thriving local blockchain industry.” Merrick also indicated plans to eventually offer Ripple’s digital assets custody solution and stablecoin Ripple USD (RLUSD) to Bahrain’s financial institutions, signaling a comprehensive approach to market penetration. Suzy Al Zeerah, Chief Operating Officer at Bahrain Fintech Bay, reinforced this vision by describing Bahrain as a financial services hub whose legacy is being enhanced through crypto space development.

While Ripple expands its institutional partnerships, XRP faces significant selling pressure from large investors. Over the past month, whales—defined as wallets holding between one million and ten million tokens—have offloaded 440 million XRP tokens valued at over $1.2 billion. This substantial divestment has contributed to XRP’s 6% price decline during the same period, with the token currently trading around $2.83. The selling spree increases the amount of coins available on the open market and potentially spreads concern among the XRP investor community.

The scale of this whale activity has meaningfully altered the distribution of XRP holdings. Following the recent selling, whales now control 6.51 billion XRP, representing less than 11% of the asset’s circulating supply. This redistribution away from large holders could indicate profit-taking after recent price movements or strategic portfolio reallocation, though the effect has been undeniably bearish in the short term. The timing of this sell-off creates a complex backdrop against which to evaluate Ripple’s positive partnership news.

Market analysts present conflicting outlooks for XRP’s price trajectory following these developments. Popular analyst Ali Martinez has taken a cautious stance, suggesting that XRP might be headed for a retest of the critical support zone at $2.72. This perspective aligns with the current bearish pressure from whale selling and recent price performance. Martinez’s analysis implies that further downside could materialize if this key support level fails to hold.

Contrasting this view, other industry participants offer more optimistic projections. Analyst Mikybull Crypto envisions a potential spike to new all-time highs above $4 in the coming months, suggesting that current pressures may represent a temporary consolidation before a significant upward move. Similarly, CasiTrades has forecasted substantial price appreciation contingent on XRP surpassing and maintaining the $3 level, indicating that breaking this psychological barrier could trigger renewed bullish momentum.

Adding complexity to these forecasts, XRP’s exchange netflow has been predominantly negative in recent weeks, meaning investors are moving tokens from centralized platforms to self-custody methods. This trend typically supports bullish scenarios by reducing immediate selling pressure, as tokens held in personal wallets are less likely to be liquidated quickly. The coexistence of whale selling and negative netflow creates a nuanced market dynamic that explains the divergence in analyst predictions.