In a surprising development, Ripple Labs, a company usually associated with positive developments in the crypto world, has had a tough week. This downturn comes as significant amounts of XRP were sold, coinciding with a noticeable drop in the cryptocurrency’s price.
Background Information
XRP, the digital asset from Ripple, has been on an upward trajectory for the past three months, even amid ongoing legal challenges with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). However, the market recently faced a sudden price correction, with XRP’s value taking a hit.
Recent Developments
Whale Alert, a service that tracks large cryptocurrency transactions, recently identified two major XRP transfers from an anonymous wallet to the crypto exchanges Bitstamp and Bitso. In total, these transactions involved the movement of over 52 million XRP. Analysis from Bithomp, an XRP-focused blockchain explorer, suggests that these transactions might be linked to Ripple Labs rather than being a straightforward sale.
Impact on Market
Following these large transfers, the price of XRP fell sharply, from $0.0651 to $0.616—a drop of over 5%. This decline followed a previous decrease of 12%, which was attributed to false rumours regarding a BlackRock XRP ETF.
Explainer: On-Demand Liquidity (ODL)
Ripple Payments, formerly known as On-Demand Liquidity (ODL), is a key part of Ripple’s ecosystem. Unlike traditional banking systems that rely on prepaid accounts for money transfers, Ripple Payments, powered by XRP, offers a more direct and efficient transactional process.
These recent developments put Ripple Labs in the spotlight, with the cryptocurrency community closely monitoring the situation. As the market responds to these significant transfers, the future movements of Ripple and XRP remain a point of keen interest for investors and analysts.
