Ripple has once again deviated from its customary scheduled release of XRP tokens from its escrow wallet. On April 1st, only 500 million XRP was unlocked, a significant decrease from the typical 1 billion tokens. Surprisingly, a mere 12 hours later, Ripple locked 800 million XRP back into its escrow wallet.
This unusual pattern has emerged in recent months. Since February, instead of releasing the full 1 billion XRP tokens on the first of the month, Ripple has followed an intermittent release plan. It is speculated that transaction failures may have caused these irregularities. Notably, April’s transactions proceeded without any reported errors.
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How This Affects Escrow Releases
Whale Alert, a service that tracks and reports large cryptocurrency transactions, documented and disclosed the recent escrow transactions by Ripple in a post on X. The first, executed at 02:22 (UTC), placed 400 million XRP into the “Ripple 12” wallet. The second transaction swiftly followed, transferring another 400 million XRP into the “Ripple 13” wallet.
This rapid return to escrow amounted to approximately $487,578,258. As of now, it’s unclear whether Ripple will choose to release the remaining 500 million XRP for April. Only in January of this year has Ripple followed its traditional escrow release practice.
XRP Price Trend
The price of XRP has declined in the past 24 hours, falling below the $0.6 mark and touching a low of $0.5881. This decline represents a dip of roughly 4% from the intraday high of 0.6162. Meanwhile, an XRP enthusiast, Mr. Huber foresees XRP experiencing a more significant price decline of 83% ahead of the automated market maker (AMM) launch.
Ripple’s decision to return a substantial portion of XRP to escrow hasn’t positively affected the token’s price. It’s important to note that this aligns with a broader bearish trend in the cryptocurrency market, driven largely by Bitcoin’s price movements.
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Potential Reasons for Ripple’s Actions
Ripple’s decision to reduce escrow releases and consistently return significant portions of XRP tokens to escrow could be motivated by various factors. One possibility is that Ripple is responding to market conditions, seeking to limit the circulating XRP supply in an attempt to support its price.
Additionally, the company may be aiming to demonstrate a commitment to responsible, long-term management of its XRP holdings, instilling confidence among investors.
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