Just In: Ripple Re-Locks 700 Million XRP Back Into Escrow

Ripple has re-locked 700 million XRP into escrow after releasing 1 billion tokens through its scheduled monthly process. The transactions show 500 million and 200 million XRP returning to escrow following the earlier release.

The two re-locked batches were worth about $952 million combined, based on transaction values reported by Whale Alert. Meanwhile, the XRP price has fallen about 3% to $1.34 as the broader crypto market faces renewed selling pressure.

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Ripple Re-Locks 700 Million XRP After Monthly Release

According to blockchain tracker Whale Alert, Ripple has locked 500 million XRP, valued near $680.2 million, back into escrow. A separate transaction has placed another 200 million XRP, worth about $272 million, into escrow.

XRPL transaction data shared by community validator Vet also identifies two EscrowCreate transactions covering the same amounts. The transactions account for 700 million XRP returned to Ripple’s escrow system.

The activity has followed Ripple’s regular monthly release of 1 billion XRP. The earlier unlock occurred through three transactions containing 500 million, 400 million, and 100 million tokens.

Before the subsequent re-lock transactions, the release had reduced Ripple’s remaining on-chain escrow balance to about 31.28 billion XRP. That amount represents roughly 31.28% of XRP’s original 100 billion token supply.

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What Happened to the Remaining 300 Million XRP?

The transaction sequence leaves a net 300 million XRP outside the newly created escrow contracts. Vet described that amount as typical for Ripple’s monthly escrow process and identified it in a Ripple-controlled wallet.

Some social media reports have claimed that Ripple re-locked the entire 1 billion XRP release. However, the two XRPL transactions cited by Vet account for 700 million XRP.

Ripple has been using its escrow system to manage scheduled XRP releases for several years. Unused portions of monthly releases can be placed into new escrow contracts with later release dates.

The mechanism makes the scheduled supply available on-chain, although an unlock does not mean all released tokens enter exchanges. Re-locking part of the amount removes those tokens from the immediately available supply again.

XRP Price Falls With Broader Crypto Market

XRP price has dropped about 3% to $1.34 at press time, according to CoinMarketCap. The decline is occurring alongside a wider cryptocurrency sell-off rather than directly following the escrow transactions alone.

Bitcoin has fallen below $77,000 as markets react to escalating tensions between the United States and Iran. The broader decline has also created selling pressure across several major crypto assets.

Meanwhile, crypto lawyer Bill Morgan has disputed claims that Ripple’s regular escrow distributions directly caused XRP price declines. He said XRP has been falling alongside Bitcoin and broader crypto market sentiment.