Ripple has recently revealed that it currently holds 44.9 billion XRP, with 40 billion of those tokens being held in escrow. In the first quarter of 2024, Ripple sold over 841 million XRP tokens.
This information was disclosed in Ripple’s latest XRP market quarterly report, which highlighted various developments in the XRP ecosystem during Q1 2024. These developments included an increase in transactions, a decrease in transaction cost, and the launch of XLS-30 for AMM functionality.
At the end of 2023, Ripple held 45.78 billion XRP. However, by the end of Q1 2024, this number had dropped to 44.94 billion XRP. This represents 44.94% of XRP’s maximum supply and marks the first time that Ripple holds less than 45% of the token’s supply.
During the first quarter of the year, Ripple sold 841.5 million XRP, which is equivalent to $440.6 million at the current unit price of $0.5236. This represents a 16% decrease in XRP sales compared to the previous quarter, which saw sales of 1.006 billion XRP.
Out of the current balance of 44.94 billion XRP, 40.1 billion tokens are locked in 12 escrow wallets. These assets are subject to monthly escrow releases. However, recent data from XRPL explorer XRPScan shows that this figure has dropped to 39.7 billion XRP, as Ripple sold 400 million XRP in April and May.
According to Ripple’s report, the company holds 4.84 billion XRP as a spendable balance out of the total holdings. This indicates a decrease of 237 million XRP in the last quarter.
Ripple’s continuous sales of XRP have raised concerns among some market participants who believe that these sales contribute to the token’s underperformance. However, Ripple CTO David Schwartz has debunked these claims, stating that XRP’s inflation rate is lower than other assets like Solana, which have performed well.
In response to community inquiries, Schwartz emphasized that Ripple has no other option but to continuously decrease its XRP holdings. He explained that burning the tokens would not positively impact the price, citing the case of Stellar.
It is important to note that this article is for informational purposes only and should not be considered financial advice. The views expressed in this article are the author’s personal opinions and do not reflect the opinion of The Crypto Basic. Readers are advised to conduct their own research before making any investment decisions, and The Crypto Basic is not responsible for any financial losses.