After the release of 1 billion tokens in February, Ripple allocated 200 million XRP (equivalent to $100 million) to its treasury. According to on-chain data, the company initiated the sale of over half of this month’s supply inflation on February 5th.
This sale followed a familiar pattern observed in previous instances. However, it commenced with a transaction valued at $60 million, involving 120 million XRP tokens—the largest initial monthly payment since February 2023.
Ripple’s recognized treasury account, ‘Ripple (1)’, transferred the tokens to ‘rP4X2…sKxv3′ just five days after unlocking them. This address aligns with previous months’ sell-off destinations.
As of the current writing, Ripple still retains 80 million XRP from the February unlock.
Ripple (1) account summary – assets. Source: XRP Scan
What became of the 120 million XRP transferred to ‘rP4X2…sKxv3’ by Ripple?
Following the receipt of Ripple’s payment, ‘rP4X2…sKxv3’ engaged in transactions with three other accounts. Initially, it transferred 3 million XRP to ‘rBQhw…vZkN5’ and 17 million to ‘rhWt2…E32hk’ at 8:59 pm (UTC). Subsequently, ‘rJqiM…La8nE’ received 1 million XRP later on the same day.
On February 6th, ‘rhWt2…E32hk’ received an additional 9.55 million XRP, bringing the total to 26.55 million XRP. The original recipient still holds 89.45 million XRP earmarked for potential sale on cryptocurrency exchanges, valued at nearly $45 million.
The presence of these tokens in the market could exert selling pressure at any given time, affecting the price of XRP.
It is crucial to recognize that Ripple typically executes its asset liquidations at opportune junctures. Essentially, these sell-offs constitute a substantial portion of the token’s 24-hour trading volume, potentially influencing short-term price movements.
Notably, the institution’s Co-founder and Executive Chairman, Chris Larsen, experienced a loss of $112 million worth of XRP due to a security breach. The token’s value responded negatively amid expectations of a sell-off, with a comparable nominal value to the reserves held for the current month.
