Ripple Unlocks 1 Billion XRP Into a Market Nursing 20% Losses
Ripple released exactly 1 billion XRP from escrow on July 1, days after the token hit a 19-month low near $1.01.
Ripple released exactly 1 billion XRP from escrow on Wednesday, split across three transactions of 200 million, 300 million, and 500 million tokens. Whale Alert flagged the transfers early in the day. At current prices the batch is worth roughly $1.04 billion. It lands days after XRP touched its weakest level in more than a year and a half.
Why the billion isn't all new supply
The escrow dates to 2017, when Ripple locked 55 billion XRP into smart contracts to stop itself from dumping supply on the open market. The release runs on a fixed monthly schedule, and most of what comes out goes straight back in. Ripple typically relocks 600 to 800 million XRP within hours or days. That leaves a net 200 to 300 million XRP trickling into circulating supply each cycle, not the full billion the headline number implies.
June was brutal. XRP fell close to 20% on the month and bottomed near $1.01 on June 25, a 19-month low. It has since crept back to around $1.04, according to BeInCrypto. Technical charts show the token stuck in a falling channel, with resistance overhead at $1.18 to $1.22 and a support band at $1.00 to $1.02 that bulls need to defend.
Whales buying into the dip
On-chain data cuts the other way. Santiment recorded whale accumulation across multiple holder cohorts, with large wallets adding roughly 210 million XRP in June alone. Exchange netflows turned negative as holders pulled tokens off venues and into private storage. Spot XRP ETFs in the United States drew steady inflows all month, even as Bitcoin and Ethereum funds bled, a sign of institutional money rotating toward XRP-specific exposure.
The $1.02 level to watch
The open question is whether that demand can absorb the fresh supply. If Ripple follows its usual pattern, most of Wednesday's billion returns to escrow within days, and the accumulation from June sits waiting underneath. The level to watch is $1.02. Hold it, and the falling channel stays intact. Lose it, and the next support sits lower.
Sources
- Ripple Unlocks 1 Billion XRP as the Bearish Nightmare Deepens: What's Next? · BeInCrypto
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