As part of normal procedure, San Francisco-based payments company Ripple witnessed the release of 1 billion XRP tokens from escrow.
In an event that occurred early this morning, the company’s escrow wallets released 1 billion XRP worth $621.78 million across three transactions.
Transaction Details
Whale Alert data shows that the escrow system first released 500 million XRP ($310.64 million) today at 02:53 UTC. Six minutes later, a second escrow release was executed containing 400 million XRP ($248.88 million).
Ripple’s escrow system then released the latest batch of XRP for October, containing 100 million tokens worth $62.24 million. This transaction was executed at exactly 03:00 UTC, bringing Ripple’s total XRP unlock volume for October to 1 billion XRP.
It’s worth noting that all three transactions were initiated by OffEscrowerOfDai, a blockchain account often associated with Ripple’s monthly XRP unlocks.
Ripple Expected to Re-Lock 800 Million XRP in Escrow
Meanwhile, Ripple is expected to re-lock most of the funds back into escrow as part of its normal process. Notably, the company typically re-locks 80%, or 800 million, of XRP into escrow after issuing 1 billion tokens on the first day of each month.
Crypto Basic reported that Ripple followed this pattern last month during its September escrow, unlocking 1 billion XRP and re-locking 80% of the funds in the escrow. The remaining 200 million XRP could be used to develop the company’s business.
Interestingly, this deal coincided with the company’s $125 million payment to the SEC after it violated federal securities laws.
Many community members then speculated that Ripple might sell 200 million XRP to pay the fine.
XRP fell 4.26% in 24 hours
Meanwhile, XRP is trading at $0.6203, down 4.26% over the past 24 hours. Conversely, XRP is up 5.26% in the last seven days and 11.09% on the monthly charts.
It is unlikely that Ripple’s recent XRP unlock affected the token’s performance over the past 24 hours, as the broader cryptocurrency market also saw huge corrections over the same period.