Ripple Price Holds Steady at $0.60 Despite Whale Movement and 1B XRP Token Unlock But For How Long?

Key Takeaways

• Ripple will unlock 1 billion XRP on August 1.
• Whale transactions indicate potential upcoming price volatility.
• XRP struggles to surpass $0.60, indicating a possible sell-off.

On August 1, Ripple is scheduled to unlock 1 billion XRP tokens from its 40 billion escrow. Since 2017, Ripple has unlocked a portion of the initial supply every month as part of its arrangement to regulate its supply distribution.

However, the upcoming wave of tokens could spike selling pressure, causing some investors to remain on edge. On-chain data suggests that XRP whales are preparing for a massive sell-off as they move their assets onshore to crypto exchanges. 

With XRP struggling to break through the $0.60 level since mid-July, is a sell-off on the horizon?

1B XRP Token Unlock

Ripple has scheduled its next escrow release for July 31. At the time of writing, the tokens were valued at approximately $600 million.

However, Ripple often re-locks a significant portion of these tokens, as it has previously done. XRPScan’s on-chain data  reveals that the upcoming unlock will involve two specific accounts: ‘Ripple (24)’ and ‘Ripple (25)’.

Ripple’s ‘Ripple (24)’ account holds two escrows containing 200 million and 300 million XRP, respectively, while its ‘Ripple (25)’ account has a single escrow contract worth 500 million XRP. In total, Ripple will unlock 1 billion XRP.

Ripple’s current escrow balance stands at 39,308,804,937 XRP

Whales On The Move 

According to Whale Alerts data , one XRP whale has deposited 24,750,000 XRP worth $14,929,313 to Bitstamp.

Santiment  also reports a surge in whale transactions, with a notable increase in holders with over $100,000 and $1 million worth of XRP. On July 29, whales holding over $1 million made 29 transactions, while those holding over $100,000 conducted 169 transactions.

On-chain data reveals that these large XRP holders are actively gearing up for the upcoming token unlock, hinting at potential price volatility.

XRP Price Analysis 

Ripple’s price plummeted to $0.38 on July 5, its lowest level since March, before staging a solid recovery, surging 67.50% to $0.63 by July 17. It wasn’t long before XRP fell to $0.54 on July 19, only to rebound again to $0.62 by July 25.

The XRPUSD chart shows that Ripple has been locked in a downtrend since peaking at $0.93 in mid-July last year, forming a descending channel. By bouncing off the channel’s support on July 5, Ripple may have completed this structure, potentially marking the beginning of a new bull phase, with the uptrend to July 17 being its first sub-wave.

Ripple is now poised to enter a corrective stage, which could push the price down to the $0.50 zone as part of the second sub-wave. A breakout below the ascending trendline will confirm this assumption, potentially followed by a bounce and a breakout above.

However, if Ripple’s price falls to $0.50 and finds support, it will likely launch another upward advancement, targeting values above $0.80.”

About the Author

Nikola Lazic

Nikola Lazic is a cryptocurrency analyst and investor working in the industry since 2017. He holds a bachelor's degree in Sociology, which enables him to better understand the psychology behind the crowd´s positioning. Consequently his preferred analytical tool is Elliott Wave Theory in combination with price action analysis. Combining his experience in trading and investing with knowledge in content writing he strives to bring the most accurate and actionable information. Expertise: Cryptocurrencies, Technical analysis, Elliott Wave Theory, On-chain metrics, Research reports.

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