Ripple Releases 500 Million XRP amid Heightened Scrutiny

Ripple, the blockchain company behind XRP, has released 500 million coins from its escrow account for April, continuing its monthly practice of unlocking XRP tokens into the market. This release coincides with ongoing scrutiny of Ripple's XRP sales, with allegations that the company used bots to suppress the token's price. Despite these legal challenges, Ripple's escrow holdings remain substantial, representing over $24.7 billion in XRP and a significant portion of the token's circulating supply.

Ripple Unlocks 500 Million XRP Tokens Amidst Scrutiny

On April 1, 2024, the blockchain company Ripple released 500 million XRP tokens from its escrow account, marking its third deviation from the customary monthly release of one billion tokens. This action comes as Ripple faces heightened scrutiny over its past sales of XRP.

Escrow Release Details

According to data provided by blockchain tracker Whale Alert, the transaction occurred at 02:51 (UTC) on April 1. The released XRP tokens have a market value of approximately $314.87 million.

The recipient Ripple account has yet to initiate any transactions following the fund transfer, maintaining a balance of 500 million XRP. The company's escrow wallet balance has decreased to 4.5 billion XRP.

Deviation from Monthly Unlocking Pattern

Ripple typically unlocks one billion XRP tokens from escrow each month. However, this pattern has been disrupted in recent months, with varying amounts being released.

January marked the only instance of adherence to the regular unlocking schedule, with Ripple releasing one billion XRP tokens on January 1. February saw the release of 600 million XRP on February 1, followed by an additional 400 million XRP on February 25 to complete the scheduled monthly release.

March's unlock witnessed a reduction to 500 million XRP, with an unsuccessful attempt for another escrow release later in the month due to the absence of a reference object.

Scrutiny over XRP Sales

Ripple's monthly escrow releases have attracted attention amidst the ongoing legal battle with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). Legal documents suggest that Ripple may have utilized bots from GSR, a trading company, to facilitate its past institutional XRP sales.

Ripple's CTO, David Schwartz, has dismissed these allegations, asserting that the company has discontinued such programmatic XRP sales.

Market Impact

Following the latest escrow release, Ripple's total XRP holdings now stand at 39.5 billion tokens distributed across eight escrow wallets.

As of 09:05 AM EST on April 1, XRP's price hovered around $0.6123, reflecting a 2.34% decline over the past 24 hours.

Despite the decrease, XRP remains the sixth-largest cryptocurrency by market capitalization, with a valuation of $33.64 billion. Its trading volume has also increased by 43.45% to reach $1.35 billion.

Future Unlocks

It is possible that Ripple may execute an additional 500 million XRP unlocking later in April, mirroring the pattern it followed in February.