Ripple, a cryptocurrency payments company and the largest holder of XRP, has initiated another large-scale transaction that has caught the attention of the crypto market. The payment protocol and exchange network has dumped 150 million XRP, representing approximately 0.25% of the cryptocurrency’s current market capitalization.
Ripple’s Large-Scale Transfer
In a recent X (formerly Twitter) post on Wednesday, May 13, blockchain tracker and analytics system, Whale Alert disclosed that Ripple had sold 150 million XRP tokens valued at over $75.7 million. The recipient of the substantial XRP transfer was an anonymous crypto wallet address identified as “rP4X2hTa7A,” which was activated by Ripple.
The transfer occurred in two separate transactions, with a one-hour time difference. Whale Alert revealed that 100 million XRP worth approximately $55,776,737 was transferred into ‘rP4X2hTa7A’ from another anonymous wallet address ‘rhWt2bhRq.’
The second transaction saw the rest of the XRP being moved to ‘rP4X2hTa7A,’ recording a 50 million XRP transfer worth about $27.8 million.
According to data from XRP Ledger (XRPL) explorer, Bithomp, Ripple has consistently maintained a relationship with the wallet address, rP4X2hTa7A. Earlier on April 24, the crypto payments company transferred a whopping 100 million XRP to the above wallet address. After which, portions of the cryptocurrencies were distributed from the wallet to several external addresses.
It’s also worth mentioning that Ripple initiated its 150 million XRP transaction after releasing 1 billion XRP tokens on May 1 from its regular monthly escrow unlock. Following the XRP release, Ripple distributed the cryptocurrency, transferring 200 million XRP to its personal treasury account and allocating the rest of the tokens to new escrows.
XRPScan data also revealed that after receiving the XRP escrow deposit, Ripple’s treasury account identified as ‘Ripple (1)’ had sent the tokens to the aforementioned wallet address, effectively increasing XRP’s supply inflation by introducing new tokens into the market that were previously never in circulation.
Following the XRP transfer to rP4X2hTa7A, the anonymous wallet address kept 50 million XRP and moved the remaining 100 million XRP to another unknown wallet. If this distribution pattern continues, a sell-off could occur, potentially impacting the price of XRP, which has been consolidating around the $0.5 price mark.
XRP Price Analysis
Although Ripple’s 150 million XRP dump is not its first transfer this year, a potential sell-off could have a drastic effect on XRP. Historically, XRP’s value tends to experience slight declines after Ripple sells its tokens.
Following this trend, Ripple’s recent XRP transfer has potentially led to a dramatic decline in the price of the cryptocurrency. Just a few days ago XRP’s price was trading around $0.5. However, at the time of writing, the cryptocurrency is trading at $0.49, having declined by 1.37% over the past 24 hours and 4.03% in the previous week, according to CoinMarketCap.
Featured image from StormGain, chart from Tradingview.com