Ripple Keeps 1.3B XRP After Escrow Unlock, Sparking Settlement Speculation

Ripple retains 1.3 billion XRP in its spendable wallets after unlocking 1 billion tokens from escrow for July, sparking speculation of a settlement in the SEC case.

Whale Alert, a crypto tracking resource, spotlighted the latest development, which occurred across multiple transactions within two hours yesterday. The first batch involved seven fund movements, with which Ripple transferred 1.1 billion XRP to three different wallets and locked up 800 million XRP in escrow.

Details of the Ripple Transactions

Notably, in the first batch, Ripple moved 200 million XRP to “rBg…91m,” and then transferred 300 million XRP to “rDd…eCK” yesterday. The firm then sent 500 million XRP to “rKD…2op.” Essentially, these transactions moved 1 billion XRP to three Ripple wallets, occurring between 21:41 and 21:43 UTC yesterday.

Three minutes after the first batch of movements, Ripple proceeded to lock up some of the funds in escrow. Address “rDd…eCK” locked up the 500 million XRP it received. Afterward, wallet “rKD…2op” escrowed the 300 million XRP in its balance, bringing total assets locked up to 800 million XRP.

🔒 🔒 🔒 🔒 🔒 🔒 🔒 🔒 🔒 🔒 300,000,000 #XRP (143,204,464 USD) locked in escrow at #Ripplehttps://t.co/Pp4qipncuh

— Whale Alert (@whale_alert) July 1, 2024

Interestingly, Ripple then sent an additional 100 million XRP to address “rBg…91m” at 21:49 UTC. This brought the wallet’s balance to 300 million XRP. With this series of movements, Ripple had sent 1.1 billion to spendable wallets, but locked up 800 million XRP. This brings the spendable balance from the fund flow to 300 million XRP.

The second batch of transactions involved the anticipated escrow unlocks, occurring over an hour after the first batch. Ripple unlocked 500 million XRP to address “rDq…EsF” and then another 500 million XRP in two unequal movements to “rw2…3wY.”

SEC Settlement Speculation

Overall, the multiple transactions executed by Ripple saw the company lock up 800 million XRP and unlock 1 billion XRP. While these movements are typical each month, the transfer of additional 300 million to wallets to a wallet usually leveraged for fund liquidations has caught the attention of the investing public.

With Ripple segregating 1.3 billion XRP for possible liquidation, speculations of an imminent settlement in the SEC case have sprung up. Interestingly, Ripple recently moved 200 million XRP at the end of last month. As The Crypto Basic reported, this fund flow also triggered speculative comments.

Notably, the Ripple v. SEC lawsuit has slid into the remedies phase. Consequently, both parties have presented arguments on the fair penalty for Ripple’s violation of securities provisions.

The U.S. SEC demands a disgorgement of $876 million and another $876 million in civil penalty, with $198 million in prejudgment interest. While these demands total $1.95 billion, Ripple argues that the civil penalty should not be more than $10 million. Both parties await the court’s final decision on the matter.