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Ripple Locks Away 800 Million XRP In Escrow, Impact On Price?

Ripple Labs, a leading American-based payment firm has locked away a substantial amount of XRP tokens in its escrow wallet as part of its monthly unlock program to help bolster its ecosystem and XRP.

Ripple Takes Back 800 Million XRP 

A recent report from on-chain tracker Whale Alert revealed that Ripple took back about 800 million XRP tokens. This is no surprise, as the stated transaction has been a recurring outcome by the payment firm.

The payment firm locked the aforementioned funds after its monthly 1 billion XRP release, which has caught the attention of the crypto space. According to Whale Alert, the firm carried out the transaction in two distinct transfers. 

For the first transaction, Ripple locked away 500 million XRP tokens, valued at $253 million at the time of the report. Data from XRPScan shows that the 500 million XRP were initially transferred from “Ripple 23” to “Ripple 11” wallets before they were locked away.

Meanwhile, the second transaction saw 300 million XRP valued at about $151 million being transferred to the company’s escrow wallet. Whale Alert revealed the transaction was carried out by another wallet address identified as “Ripple 10,” according to data from the XRPScan. 

The firm has been releasing XRP from its escrow holdings every first day of the month. This process is a component of Ripple’s strategy to regulate the amount of XRP in circulation and uphold stability in the dynamic world of digital assets. 

After making up 55% of all XRP supply at first, the escrow accounts now own 40.7% of the supply. This is a result of the progressive unlocking process since it began in December 2017.

As of December 2017, the firm held 55 billion XRP as part of the escrow system initiative, which was mostly implemented on the XRP Ledger (XRPL).

XRP Whales On Dumping Spree

Whale Alert has also detected a substantial dump of XRP on cryptocurrency exchanges (CEXs). Whale Alert reported that over 67 million XRP was observed being moved to Bitso and Bitstamp platforms.

Further data shows that the unknown wallet address r4wf7enWPx…5XgwHh4Rzn transferred 37.9 million XRP to a Bitso-based wallet address. As of the time of transfer, the funds were valued at approximately $19 million.

Later on, 29.7 million XRP was moved to Bitstamp, a Luxemburg-based crypto exchange, in a separate transaction. According to the tracker, the same wallet address carried out the transaction worth about $15 million. This particular wallet address has been carrying out this type of transaction to the CEXs for a while now. It is believed that this might be due to Ripple’s strategic partnership with these centralized exchanges.

The price of XRP is still down by over 2% in the past week, trading at $0.505. Its market capitalization is currently up by 2%, but its trading volume has decreased by over 36% in the past 24 hours.

Ripple

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XRP Whale Makes Massive Transfer Amidst Price Volatility

In light of recent developments in the crypto market, XRP has once again garnered the attention of investors and the community as the crypto asset has witnessed yet another massive whale activity.

XRP Whales Moves Over 50 Million Token To CEXs

A recent report revealed that an XRP whale recently moved over 50 million tokens to cryptocurrency exchanges. On-chain data shows that the whale has been making this kind of transaction over the past few weeks.

Interestingly, these whale transactions have created a whirlwind of speculation among worldwide crypto market enthusiasts after they surfaced during the token’s price decline.  According to data from the on-chain tracker Whale Alert, the whale transferred 50.7 million tokens to centralized exchanges (CEX).

Whale Alert has revealed that the aforementioned funds were transferred to CEXs in two separate transactions. The whale transactions occurred amidst the token’s downward movement raising speculation on its effect on XRP’s price.

The on-chain tracker reported that the first transaction saw a whopping 26 million XRP tokens valued at approximately $15.22 million. Data shows that the unknown address identified as r4wf7enWPx…5XgwHh4Rzn moved the tokens to the Mexican-based crypto exchange Bitso.

Meanwhile, the second transaction moved 24.7 million XRP tokens valued at about $14.68 as of the time the transfer was made. The same wallet address mentioned above had transferred the funds to another crypto exchange Bitstamp.

It is noteworthy that the aforestated wallet address has been orchestrating this kind of transaction to the CEXs for a while now. Last week, Whale Alert detected the wallet address transferring over 48 million XRP tokens to Bitstamp and Bitso.

In less than two weeks, the wallet address has moved over 138 million tokens to the cryptocurrency platforms. With the current price of the digital asset, this is valued at over $79 million.

The Crypto Asset Poised For A Significant Upswing

On Wednesday, the entire crypto market experienced a notable disruption which saw XRP falling close to its October lows of $0.50. Despite the significant price drop, cryptocurrency analyst Egrag Crypto has expressed bullish sentiments about the crypto asset.

Egrag has recently shared bold predictions for the asset on the X (formerly Twitter) platform. The crypto analyst pointed out that the token’s price is currently getting ready for an upswing.

XRP

He noted an August scenario where XRP reached the lower boundary of its channel during the 1 billion liquidation across crypto. “Now, after five months, it is going back to that zone with another aggressive 1 billion liquidation,” he stated.

He highlighted that the asset’s bulls have been steadfast in “defending this channel,” not allowing anything to stop them from “buying into the dip.” He asserted that the bulls have maintained the price above the “Val Hell Line,” preventing a “daily candle” close below it.

So far, Egrag has pointed out “a slight retest” around the $0.55 appears to be “pretty standard” market behavior.

XRP

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XRP Whales Moves $47 Million To Exchange, As Price Dips

XRP whales are on the move again, as on-chain data reveals that the crypto asset has witnessed a massive whale activity in the past day, which has led investors and the crypto community to ponder on the reasons behind these large transactions.

Whale Transfers 47 million XRP To Cryptocurrency Exchanges

A report has shown that a whale has shifted approximately 47 million XRP tokens to crypto exchanges. Data from the on-chain tracker Whale Alert revealed the funds were moved to centralized exchanges (CEXs) in two distinct transfers. 

The two whale transactions came in light of the token experiencing a price decline. The first transfer saw about 24,800,000 XRP tokens valued at $15,463,840 being moved to the crypto exchange Bitso. Data from the on-chain tracker shows that the unknown wallet address r4wf7enWPx…5XgwHh4Rzn made the move 11 hours ago.

The second transaction shifted about 23,800,000 XRP which was valued at $14,840,298 at the time of transfer. Whale Alert reported that the same wallet address mentioned above also made the transfer to another crypto exchange Bitstamp.

This is not a surprise as the stated wallet has been making such huge transfers to both Bitso and Bitstamp exchanges. On Wednesday, December 27, the same wallet address was reported moving over 49 million XRP to the centralized exchanges.

The whale transaction also took place in two distinct transfers. The wallet address moved 22.90 million XRP valued at approximately $14 million to Bitstamp. Meanwhile, the second transaction was reported to have witnessed 16.50 million XRP worth about $10.43 million moved to the Mexican-based exchange Bitso.

The movement of XRP to the stated CEXs via the same wallet address has become a regular occurrence in the cryptocurrency space.  This might be due to Ripple‘s strategic partnership with Bitstamp and Bitso, in which the CEXs make use of Ripple’s payment services.

Could The Price Of The Crypto Asset Reach $2,500?

Crypto expert Egrag Crypto recently revealed an intriguing story of his conversation about the pricing of XRP with a prominent banker. The analyst shared the story with the entire crypto community on the social media platform X (formerly Twitter).

The conversation revolved around the token, as both figures examined how the altcoin might reach a value of $2,500 soon. The discussion arose when the banker challenged Egrag to clarify how 40,000 XRP could ultimately equal $100 million.

XRP

Taking up the challenge, Egrag showed the banker how the asset would reach $2,500 using a chart he posted alongside. According to the chart, the token might reach this price level by 2029. 

Due to this, the banker has considered the digital asset a long-term investment, as he believes it could result in enormous gains by then.

Currently, the token’s price is sitting at $0.629, indicating a decline of about 1.60% in the past 24 hours. Its trading volume is also down by over 20%, while its market cap is down by 1.68%.

XRP

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XRP Price Bucks Market Trend As Whales Move 161 Million Tokens

The XRP price is currently bucking the general market trend and is recording a small gain of around 2% over the last 24 hours. What is noticeable are massive movements by whales over the past few hours.

The cryptocurrency market is on shaky ground given the macroeconomic headwinds and the still not fully digested shock from the FTX collapse.

However, XRP investors don’t seem to care at the moment. On the other hand, data suggests that possibly whales have played their part in this development.

XRP Whales Surface

As the popular cryptocurrency tracker Whale Alert reports, a total amount of 160.6 million XRP was transferred over the past 24 hours. One transaction in particular is causing quite a stir.

According to WhaleAlert, Ripple transferred 50 million XRP from one of its wallets to an unknown wallet. The transaction is currently the subject of a heated debate, with some believing that Ripple may sell some of the XRP they hold.

An analysis using Bithomp shows that the cryptocurrency was moved to another wallet of the company (RL18-VN), which is normally used to move or sell the token outside the company.

In addition, whales transferred 35.6 million tokens from Bitstamp to an unknown wallet, as well as 40 million XRP worth about $15.3 million to the European exchange Bitstamp.

The Bitso exchange is one of Ripple’s oldest On-Demand Liquidity (ODL) partners, covering one of the most important payment corridors in Latin America: U.S.-Mexico.

The Bitstamp whale is linked to the U.S. exchange Bitrex, from where the transfer was made.

Remarkably, these whale transactions follow an even much larger series of transactions totaling 4.1 billion XRP yesterday, Wednesday. According to WhaleAlert and Bithomp, these tokens were transferred from Bittrex to Uphold, divided into 10 transactions with a maximum size of 500 million units.

The reason behind the transfer is unclear, though it does not look like the transaction was made by an individual.

XRP/USD Shows Strength

At press time, the XRP price was sitting at $0.3859. The 24-hour trading volume currently hovers around $712 million.

With a market cap of $19.4 billion, XRP remains the seventh largest cryptocurrency.

In the 4-hour chart, the price of the token has managed to continue its uptrend after the FTX crash. Yesterday, the price marked a new higher low, confirming the uptrend.

For the moment, the most important resistance zone remains the area between $0.41 and $0.42. However, at the current price, XRP is still below the 50, 100 and 200 simple moving averages (SMAs).

For the bulls, it will be important to defend the uptrend line in the coming days.

XRP USD 2022-12-08

XRP price confirming its uptrend, 4-hour-chart. Source: TradingView
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Is Mexican Exchange Bitso Behind El Salvador’s Chivo Wallet?

The mystery of the Chivo wallet persists. And Bitso comes into the picture as part of a more credible report confirmed through official channels. It seems like NewsBTC was right to doubt Forbes’s article about BitGo being behind the Chivo wallet.  This Reuters report, on the other hand, comes with specific information and quotes confirming the news. For example:

“We are looking forward to working with El Salvador in an initiative that will transform payment structures and increase financial inclusion in the country,” said Santiago Alvarado, vice-president of Bitso for Business.

Related Reading | Bitcoin Price Bloodbath: Is El Salvador A “Sell The News” Event?

Even that could be considered evasive, it doesn’t refer to the Chivo wallet specifically. This chunky bit of information, on the other hand, leaves little to the imagination.

“Bitso said it will work with Silvergate Bank, a U.S. federally-regulated and California state-chartered bank, to facilitate transactions in U.S. dollars.”

The language suggests they’re talking business.

El Salvador made history by becoming the first country to make Bitcoin legal tender, and today, we’re proud to announce that Bitso is committed to building and developing El Salvador’s vision of Bitcoin by being the core crypto-service provider for Chivo.Let’s #MakeCryptoUseful https://t.co/2rrTNDdXab

— Bitso (@Bitso) September 7, 2021

If Bitso Is Behind The Wallet, What’s The Deal With BitGo?

On the other hand, in the BitGo report, the language suggested otherwise. The quote from BitGo’s CEO was non-comital and it all sounded like a paid press release. NewsBTC questioned:

“The most worrying sentence, however, is “Forbes has learned El Salvador appears to have tapped…” They’re not committing to anything here. It “appears” this way, but nothing is certain.”

However, could both companies be involved? Reuters says Bitso will be “the core service provider for Chivo.” Forbes said that BitGo would “provide Chivo’s wallet infrastructure and security platform.” Are both of these statements contradictory? Or are both of these giant companies behind the controversial Chivo wallet?

A funny detail is that Bitso’s name was present in the leak of the Chivo wallet’s architecture that our sister site Bitcoinist reported on. BitGo’s name wasn’t. And Athena was at the center of the whole operation. Still, it’s a funny detail.

One thing’s for sure, Strike seems to be completely out of the picture. In a recent Twitter thread, Strike’s CEO Jack Mallers clearly said “Strike has no business relationship with Chivo wallet or any of their ATMs.”

All that was needed was interoperability with the #Bitcoin network.

Strike has no business relationship with @chivowallet or any of their ATMs.

We simply both integrated and operate on top of the same, singular, payment standard that is #Bitcoin and the Lightning Network.

— Jack Mallers (@jackmallers) September 7, 2021

Mallers seems to be perfectly fine with the situation. “With the Bitcoin network, there is one singular, open standard for the world,” he says later on in the thread. 

BTC price chart for 09/10/2021 on Bittrex | Source: BTC/USD on TradingView.com
Remittances Are The Key

In the days prior to the Bitcoin Law coming into effect, Bitcoinist quoted the executive president of the Central American Bank for Economic Integration, Dante Mossi. He said their eyes were on remittances and that:

“Guatemala, Honduras and El Salvador are the countries that would have the most to gain if the adoption of bitcoin lowered the cost of sending remittances.” All countries in his organization’s area of influence.

Instead of focusing on how much Salvadorans are going to get back, a recent report about how much Western Union is going to lose with El Salvador’s Bitcoin move recently made the news. About it, Bitcoinist said:

“With bitcoin though, the middleman, in this case, Western Union and the likes, are completely removed from the process. The funds sent go directly to the recipient without the need for a processing fee to a third party. It is estimated that these remittance companies are set to lose about $400 million a year when remittances are routed through bitcoin instead.”

Related Reading | Bitso Raises Over US$1.85m to Boost Mexican Bitcoin Remittance

As it turns out, remittances are Bitso ’s specialty. The company processed “more than $1.2 billion in remittances between the United States and Mexico in 2020.” In the article, Reuters quotes Santiago Alvarado again:

“As the leading crypto exchange in the region, we are thrilled to bring our experience in remittances and in secure and low-friction financial services to Salvadorans.”

So, this all makes sense. Still, the mystery of the Chivo wallet continues.

Featured Image by Thomas Jarrand on Unsplash – Charts by TradingView