December’s Token Locking and Sales
In the month of December, Ripple decided to keep 200 million XRP, which accounts for 20% of the total tokens unlocked during that period. The remaining tokens were re-locked in escrows, scheduled for release in April and May 2027. These tokens are held in a crypto wallet account named ‘Ripple (1)’ as labeled by XRP Scan.
Ripple’s Token Handling Process
Typically, the company transfers the tokens it wishes to keep each month to the ‘Ripple (1)’ account. Subsequently, the company makes payments to an unlabeled address. From there, the tokens are routed to several other unlabeled addresses, presumably controlled by the same owner, until they eventually reach centralized exchanges.
Alternatively, the company may choose to sell only a portion of the unlocked tokens, retaining the rest in its reserves.
It is noteworthy that Ripple has already spent 240 million XRP out of the 200 million unlocked in December.
The sales of these tokens occurred in three separate batches after receiving the 200 million XRP from ‘Ripple (22)’ on December 1. The first batch consisted of 60 million XRP, which was spent on December 6. Six days later, another 60 million XRP was sold. Lastly, on December 20, Ripple consolidated its spending with a transaction of 120 million XRP to the same destination.
Interestingly, Ripple’s account still retains 96.34 million liquid XRP, which could potentially be sold at any given moment. At the current trading price of $0.62 per token, this remaining amount is valued at approximately $57.87 million.
In total, the sales of XRP tokens in December amounted to $148.80 million, which directly benefited the company and its shareholders.
These token sales contribute to the overall supply inflation of XRP, as the unlocked tokens begin circulating each month.