Trading expert hints manipulation for Bitcoin, XRP, and Cardano

As the cryptocurrency market, led by Bitcoin (BTC), XRP, and Cardano (ADA) rebounded over the past 2 days through October 21, 2026, crypto trading expert Ali Martinez signaled potential short-term manipulation for their prices by large players.

Martinez noted that the Bitcoin price rebound over the last 2 days has coincided with a sharp spike in on-chain activity, according to his X on Wednesday. Specifically, as BTC climbed from around $81,200 to a high of $83,407 on Tuesday, its exchange inflows surged from roughly 7,682 to 25,124 coins.

BTC exchange inflows. Source: Santiment

Similarly, the crypto analyst pointed out that XRP’s price jump from its major support level around $1.25 on Tuesday, overlapped with a surge in transaction volume on the XRP Ledger (XRPL), from roughly 215.87 million over the weekend to 49.17 billion on Monday.

XRP transaction volume. Source: Santiment

Meanwhile, Martinez showed that Cardano’s whale transactions, worth more than $1 million, rallied from roughly 24 to 51. At the same time, ADA price rebounded over 5% from its support level near $0.21.

ADA whale activity. Source: Santiment

“While the market consolidates, these moves suggest large players may be influencing short-term price action, and some of that activity is visible on-chain,” Martinez noted.

Price performance for Bitcoin, XRP and Cardano on October 21

Over the last week, Bitcoin price had added 3.55%, trading at $84,557 at press time. Bitcoin’s 24-hour trading volume spiked 6.8% to $27.56 billion, according to data Finbold fetched from CoinMarketCap.

Bitcoin price performance on Wednesday. Source: CoinMarketCap

Amid renewed demand for XRP’s spot and derivatives, the token’s price had increased nearly 4% to $1.37 at the time of reporting.

XRP price performance on Wednesday. Source: CoinMarketCap

As on-chain data revealed Cardano whale transactions on the rise, ADA price signaled bullish sentiment. The altcoin’s 24-hour trading volume has risen by roughly 10% to $280 million.