In an unexpected turn of events, half a billion XRP tokens were unlocked from unknown escrow accounts earlier today, according to data from Whale Alert. This departure from the usual monthly unlocking of Ripple accounts has left the community buzzing with speculation.
The unlocking occurred in two stages, with 200 million XRP initially released, equivalent to $122.64 million, followed by an additional 300 million XRP, valued at $183.89 million. Notably, both transactions originated from the "rDqGA" address, which has been linked to Ripple since 2017, though it had remained dormant since 2021, per Bithomp records.
The sudden release of such a substantial amount of tokens outside of the regular schedule has raised questions about Ripple's intentions. With no clear explanation provided by the company, social media platforms are abuzz with conjecture.
XRP price reaction
Concerns have been voiced about the potential impact on XRP's price, as many fear that such a significant and unexpected influx of tokens could lead to a market downturn.
Despite the apprehension, the price of XRP has shown resilience in the face of this development. As of now, XRP is trading at $0.614, representing a marginal increase of 0.5% compared to yesterday's price.
It is worth noting that Ripple retains ownership of a substantial amount of XRP, with 39.9 billion tokens remaining in its accounts.
As the community awaits further clarification from Ripple regarding the unprecedented unlocking of half a billion XRP tokens, market observers continue to monitor the situation closely.
Denys Serhiichuk
