Ripple Moves 80 Mln XRP Sparking Speculations, What’s Next?

Ripple’s XRP has been witnessing a stagnant price action since yesterday after losing the gains made last week. In addition, the XRP community is taken aback due to massive selloffs and whale shifts. Moreover, now Ripple has transferred a whopping 80 million XRP tokens, which could trigger another massive selloff amid extreme volatility.

Inside Ripple’s Latest XRP Transaction

In a post on X, Whale Alert, a blockchain tracking avenue, revealed that a staggering 80 million XRP tokens were shifted by Ripple to an undisclosed wallet. The transaction was worth $46.18 million. This transfer sent shockwaves through the community as an enormous selloff is anticipated, which could push the XRP price lower.

According to Bithomp, an XRP ledger explorer, Ripple currently holds 46.34 million XRP, which is worth $26.44 million. This indicates that Ripple has offloaded nearly two-thirds of its XRP share lately, igniting market speculations.

Bill Morgan, a lawyer, shed light on this transaction’s legal implications. While he acknowledged that “there is nothing that prevents Ripple from selling its XRP,” he pointed out the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission’s (SEC) involvement in the same.

The lawyer determined that programmatically selling XRP by Ripple does not fall under investment contracts, potentially providing liberty to the company. However, the overarching concern remains whether Ripple must register such sales with the SEC.

Furthermore, a major whale transaction was also reported by Whale Alert. The transfer registered a shift of 25.7 million XRP worth $14.83 million to Bitstamp via an unidentified wallet. This transaction again suggests a notable selloff move.

Also Read: XRP Lawyer John Deaton To Attend Coinbase & SEC’s Face-Off

XRP Price Action

Ripple’s native crypto registered a significant surge last week after it attained a high of $0.6223. However, it has currently fallen below $0.58 and is maintaining that level without dropping much. The XRP price was $0.5717, down by 0.31% at press time on Wednesday, January 17.

In addition, the 24-hour trade volume slumped by 7.52% to $876.90 million. Whilst, the crypto’s market capitalization was recorded to be $31.02 billion, indicating a dip of 0.28%. However, due to its initial gains last week, the 1-week returns amount to nearly 2%.

Also Read: XRP Stirs Buzz with $254.8M Transfer, Suspected Bitvavo Wallet Link