Ripple unlocked 1 billion XRP from escrow in its scheduled monthly release.
XRP price remains about 72% below its all-time high.
Ripple CTO David Schwartz has pushed back on extreme XRP price predictions.
Ripple unlocked 1 billion XRP from escrow on Wednesday as part of its long-running monthly supply schedule, as its price continues to trade well below its all-time high.
The release has renewed focus on XRP’s future price performance, with social media users questioning whether the token will be able to reach $2 in the short term.
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Ripple Releases 1 Billion XRP Under Monthly Escrow Program
Blockchain tracking service Whale Alert reported that Ripple unlocked a total of 1 billion XRP through three separate escrow transactions.
The transfers consisted of 200 million XRP, followed by 300 million XRP and a final release of 500 million XRP.
The monthly escrow mechanism dates back to 2017, when Ripple placed 55 billion XRP into time-locked escrow accounts designed to create a predictable release schedule for the token.
Rather than allowing unrestricted access to its holdings, Ripple releases up to 1 billion XRP each month before typically returning the majority of the tokens to escrow.
Historically, the company has re-locked between 600 million and 800 million XRP shortly after each monthly release — leaving a net increase of roughly 200 million to 300 million XRP in circulating supply.
Ripple has said the escrow system provides transparency around token distribution while supporting operational expenses and strategic partnerships.
XRP Price Over 70% Below Record High
The latest escrow release comes during a prolonged period of price weakness for XRP.
The token is trading around $1.07, according to CoinMarketCap, leaving it approximately 72% below its all-time high of $3.84 reached during the 2018 crypto bull market.
CoinMarketCap noted that XRP has spent years facing “regulatory and structural headwinds,” including:
Ripple’s legal dispute with the US Securities and Exchange Commission
Concerns over Ripple’s sizeable token holdings
Increasing competition from stablecoins
Layer-1 blockchains
Alternative cross-border payment networks.
The platform said much of XRP’s decline has been cyclical, as the wider crypto market has also retraced significantly from previous highs.
Could XRP Price Return to $2?
Despite the prolonged decline a move back to $2 remains possible, although it would require several favorable developments.
From current levels, XRP would need to gain roughly 87% to reach the $2 mark.
“It is possible, but the path is conditional and uncertain rather than automatic,” CoinMarketCap analysis said.
According to the research, a sustained rally would require a combination of strong crypto market conditions and XRP-specific catalysts.
These included declining Bitcoin dominance and clearer regulatory certainty for Ripple.
As well as this, it would need the continued growth of XRP Ledger use cases along with continued institutional use, the analysis said.
However, XRP could also continue to underperform if the wider crypto market remains weak or regulatory uncertainty persists.
David Schwartz Pushes Back on Lofty XRP Price Predictions
Ripple Chief Technology Officer David Schwartz has repeatedly cautioned against speculative claims surrounding XRP’s future valuation.
In January, Schwartz declined to endorse forecasts suggesting XRP could soon trade between $50 and $100.
“While I don’t think it’s likely, I didn’t think it was likely that XRP would ever hit $0.25.”
Schwartz also rejected claims that Ripple is secretly coordinating large-scale XRP adoption with central banks behind closed doors.
Responding to speculation in April, he acknowledged that confidentiality agreements are common in Ripple’s business relationships but warned that some investors were reading too much into them.
He added that the existence of non-disclosure agreements should not be interpreted as evidence of undisclosed plans involving XRP.
“A conspiracy theory would be something like claiming that many of those central banks are going to back their currencies with XRP,” Schwartz wrote.
Disclaimer:
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Kurt Robson is a London-based reporter at CCN, specialising in the fast-moving worlds of crypto and emerging technology. He began his career covering local news in Cornwall after graduating from Falmouth University with First Class Honours in Journalism. There, he cut his teeth on everything from council meetings to missing swans.
He quickly rose through the ranks to become a frontline journalist at several of the UK’s leading national newspapers. Over the years, he has interviewed musicians and celebrities, reported from courtrooms and crime scenes, and secured multiple front-page exclusives.
Following the upheaval of the COVID-19 pandemic, Kurt shifted his focus to technology journalism—just ahead of the AI boom. With a natural curiosity and a trained eye for emerging trends, he has found a new rhythm in reporting on innovation.
At CCN, Kurt's work focuses on the cutting edge of crypto, blockchain, AI, and the evolving digital world. Drawing on his background in people-first reporting and his deep interest in disruptive tech, Kurt delivers stories that are insightful, entertaining, and human-centric.
