• Ripple unlocked 1 billion XRP tokens from escrow as part of its monthly strategy to ensure cryptocurrency supply and cross-border transaction facilitation. 

• After the unlock, a large XRP holder transferred over $10 million worth of XRP to Binance, reflecting significant market activity.

On Friday, Ripple, the prominent blockchain firm, executed its monthly release plan by freeing up an additional 1 billion XRP tokens from escrow. This move aims to ensure a sufficient supply of XRP in the cryptocurrency market, facilitating its use by businesses for cross-border transactions. Nevertheless, this strategy can have a short-term negative impact on XRP’s value due to the sudden increase in its supply.

Ripple’s Latest XRP Unlocking

On September 1, Whale Alert reported unlocking one billion XRP tokens in four separate transactions. Initially, there was an unlocking of 300 million XRP valued at $153 million, followed by an additional 100 million XRP valued at $51 million. Furthermore, Ripple unlocked 200 million and 400 million XRP tokens in the last two transactions, totaling over $300 million. This combined movement of XRP exceeded the $500 million mark. 

Additionally, Whale Alert revealed that a significant holder transferred 19.92 million XRP, worth over $10 million, to the Binance cryptocurrency exchange following Ripple’s one billion XRP unlock.

Typically, XRP unlocks are associated with a decrease in price due to the increased supply of the cryptocurrency. Nevertheless, Ripple must ensure liquidity, especially in response to the high demand for XRP from businesses, partners, and exchanges.

Nevertheless, XRP maintains its position as the fifth-largest cryptocurrency in market capitalization. Following Ripple’s legal victory over the SEC, investor interest in this cryptocurrency has experienced a resurgence. Meanwhile, the cryptocurrency community eagerly awaited further communication from Ripple as the company prepared to celebrate its legal victory against the U.S. SEC. Ripple CEO Brad Garlinghouse confirmed plans for a celebration event in New York City on September 29.

What Makes XRP Price Movement Important?

Analysis suggests that the formation of an ascending triangle pattern on the four-hour chart indicates a potential 12 percent breakout, targeting a price of $0.6. However, to achieve this upward movement, there is a need for sufficient liquidity, initially pushing the price to $0.55 and then toward the $0.6 mark. The recent one billion XRP tokens will contribute to this liquidity boost. 

These escrow releases and significant movements of XRP by large holders from Ripple have coincided with a decrease in XRP’s value. Amid a broader market correction, XRP has experienced a 3.53 percent decline over the past 24 hours.

Following its surge to $0.5496 on August 29, XRP has continuously declined. Currently trading at $0.5075, XRP has witnessed a 7.4 percent drop from its August 29 peak. It has recorded losses for two consecutive trading sessions in the past two days.

It’s worth noting that XRP’s bearish performance is not an isolated occurrence, as the entire cryptocurrency market is currently grappling with a correction. Bitcoin (BTC) has seen a 4 percent decline in the last 24 hours. Furthermore, the overall cryptocurrency market has experienced a 3.68 percent decrease in its total valuation.