Ripple Frees 1 Billion XRP While Still Controlling 32% of Total Supply

Ripple unlocked another 1 billion tokens this morning from its XRP escrow account. As reported by Whale Alert, the release of 1 billion XRP, equivalent to more than $1.377 billion, occurred in three tranches: 200, 300 and 500 million XRP were unlocked step by step from the San Francisco-based blockchain company’s escrow accounts.

Ripple’s XRP holdings and February performance: Recap

According to XRPL Services, the company currently continues to hold around 32.91 billion XRP. This accounts for approximately 32% of the token’s total supply and, at current prices, is equivalent to more than $45.3 billion. As is known, the unlocking takes place to boost liquidity, manage the market and support the gradual release of XRP from the wallets.

For XRP itself, at the time of release the price showed almost no reaction, with only a 0.9% increase from the day’s opening. In this context, the February figures, which have just closed, are more interesting as the month ended with XRP down 16.45%. At the peak of February’s decline, the drop reached 33%.

The month was short, yet during this period the price of XRP still managed to experience such turbulence as to fall 33% from the monthly opening and then recover by 22%. The token continues to trade near the key $1.4 level, although it has not reached it.

Historically, March has been a more favorable month for XRP, given its average return of 16.7% during this month. However, the median value remains in negative territory, so it is difficult to speak of any clear preference for the token in the new month. It also remains to be seen how many XRP tokens will be returned back to escrow accounts. Usually, this amount ranges from 200 to 300 million tokens.