Ripple’s XRP Holdings Drop Below 45% Amid Surge In Trading Volume

The U.S.-based financial technology company Ripple now holds 44.9 billion XRP, with 40 billion currently in escrow, having sold over 841 million tokens in Q1 2024. A recent XRP Market report for Q1 2024 by Ripple highlights a 40% jump in trading volumes amid the SEC and regulatory challenges. 

On the other hand, the report also notes that XRP holdings dropped to 44.94 billion tokens by March 31, 2024, the first time Ripple’s holdings fell below 45% of XRP’s max supply.

XRP Spot Volumes Surge 40%

According to Ripple’s Q1 2024 XRP Markets report, published on May 17, 2024, the company highlighted significant developments in the XRP markets and the broader crypto space.

The report shows substantial growth in XRP spot trading volumes, reaching $865 million in Q1 2024, a 40% increase from Q4 2023. The average daily open interest in derivatives also increased to $500 million, up from the previous quarter’s $460 million.

Financial data providers like CCData have noted that most contributions come from major exchanges such as Binance, Coinbase, Bitstamp, and Upbit, indicating strong trading activity across multiple platforms.

Ripple’s XRP Sales in Q1 2024

Further into the report, Ripple disclosed that its XRP holdings dropped to 44.94 billion tokens by March 31, 2024, marking the first time the company’s holdings fell below 45% of XRP’s maximum supply. 

During the first quarter, Ripple sold 841.5 million XRP, equivalent to $440.6 million at the current price of $0.5236 per XRP. This represents a 16% decrease in sales compared to the previous quarter, where 1.006 billion XRP were sold.

Out of Ripple’s 44.94 billion XRP holdings, 40.1 billion are in escrow, subject to monthly releases.  As of the latest data, this escrow balance has further decreased to 39.7 billion XRP due to additional sales in April and May. 

Moreover, ripple’s spendable balance stands at 4.84 billion XRP, down by 237 million from the previous quarter.

Ripple’s Continuous XRP Sales

Ripple’s ongoing XRP sales have raised concerns among some market participants about the potential impact on XRP’s performance. However, Ripple CTO David Schwartz has clarified these concerns, highlighting that XRP’s inflation rate is lower than other cryptocurrencies like Solana, which have performed well.

Schwartz explained that Ripple needs to reduce its XRP holdings significantly and that options like burning tokens would not positively impact the price, referencing the Stellar example.

Despite these challenges, XRP’s price remains bullish. After testing support at an intra-day low of $0.514, XRP rose to $0.52, reflecting a 1.195% increase. 

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