Ripple Unlocked 600M XRP But Re-locks 800M: Here’s Why

• This move comes amid over 200 million XRP stolen from Ripple’s chairman.
• Ripple unlocked 600 million XRP from escrow but re-locked 800 million XRP.
• With the bad actor dumping the stolen XRP, Ripple locked back more tokens than it released.

Ripple has locked 800 million XRP valued at over $400 million in its escrow wallet despite releasing a lower volume for February. Prominent market tracker Whale Alert called public attention to this development in a recent post on X. Per Whale Alert’s data, Ripple initially locked 500 million XRP yesterday at 23:49 (UTC).

Additional details from XRP Explorer reveal that the initial movement of 500 million XRP originated from one of Ripple’s wallets, ‘Ripple 23’, to ‘Ripple 11’ before the funds were ultimately locked in escrow.

In the second transaction , as Whale Alert documented, the American crypto payments firm secured 300 million XRP in escrow. XRPScan data indicated that the 300 million tokens were locked in an escrow wallet designated “Ripple 10.”

While Ripple liberated XRP tokens from its escrow this month, Whale Alert missed capturing the release updates. Notably, Ripple released 600 million XRP from its escrow accounts, differing from previous months when one billion XRP was unlocked on the first day.

According to data from XRP explorer Bithomp, Ripple unlocked the 600 million tokens in two batches, 100 million and 500 million, on February 1 at 12:00 (UTC). The third transaction, which would have completed the expected release of one billion XRP, was marked as a failed transaction.

Failed Ripple Escrow transaction | Bithomp

Despite the lower volume of the unlock, Ripple has remained committed to its established practice of re-locking 80% of the unlocked tokens, amounting to 800 million, back into escrow. Ripple’s decision to lock 800 million XRP in escrow after releasing only 600 million XRP suggests it aimed to enhance investor confidence in XRP.

This move comes amid a security breach that resulted in over 200 million XRP being stolen from Ripple’s chairman’s wallet. The bad actor subsequently dumped the stolen XRP asset on the market, impacting XRP’s price.