Ripple Labs, the blockchain giant, has once more embarked on its monthly tradition of releasing a significant amount of XRP from escrow, a ritual the company has been following since December 2017. The latest release, monitored by the renowned crypto tracking service Whale Alert, saw 1 billion XRP freed in three separate transactions on October 1, precisely at midnight UTC.
The sequence started with a release of 500 million XRP, translating to a market valuation of nearly $299.9 million. This was soon succeeded by another release of 400 million XRP, amounting to about $239.92 million. The trilogy concluded with the liberation of 100 million XRP, estimated at roughly $59.98 million in market value.
Adding a twist, a little before this massive release, a movement of 50 million XRP was observed. This transfer, from one of Ripple’s primary wallets, landed in the account of an unknown recipient just minutes before midnight at 23:26 UTC. As a result, while Ripple’s linked address now showcases a 166.34 million XRP balance, the anonymous receiver’s wallet swelled to an impressive 54.72 million XRP.
For those new to Ripple’s strategy, this monthly release aims to inject certain predictability and stability into the XRP market landscape. Initially, Ripple committed an astounding 55 billion XRP to a specialized escrow system in the XRP Ledger. This structure was intended to methodically free up a minimum of 1 billion XRP monthly for 55 months. Notably, to guard against unpredictable market fluctuations, Ripple often sends most of these tokens back to escrow. Historical data reveals that sometimes as much as 800 million of the released 1 billion XRP finds its way back.
On a related note, Ripple’s recently released Q3 2023 market overview reveals an interesting twist. XRP experienced a surge in market volatility on July 13, coinciding with a federal court’s declaration that XRP would not bear the “security” tag. By the quarter’s close, XRP’s volatility had settled at a 90-day low of 40%.
The report also underscores Binance’s commanding presence in the Q3 2023 XRP market. With a staggering 60% contribution to the total XRP trade volumes across all exchanges, Binance has emerged as the dominant player.