Ripple’s XRP Holdings Decline Below 45% as Trading Volume Skyrockets
Ripple’s XRP spot trading volumes saw a remarkable surge of 40% in the first quarter of 2024, reaching an impressive $865 million. Meanwhile, Ripple’s XRP holdings have fallen below 45% for the first time, currently standing at 44.9 billion tokens.
In a recent XRP Market report for Q1 2024, Ripple highlighted the significant growth in trading volumes despite the challenges posed by the SEC and regulatory issues. The report, published on May 17, 2024, revealed that XRP spot trading volumes experienced a substantial increase, reaching $865 million in Q1 2024. This represents a 40% surge from the previous quarter, Q4 2023. The report also noted an increase in the average daily open interest in derivatives, which rose to $500 million, up from $460 million in the previous quarter.
Financial data providers such as CCData have observed that major exchanges like Binance, Coinbase, Bitstamp, and Upbit have contributed significantly to this growth, indicating robust trading activity across multiple platforms.
However, the report also highlighted a decline in Ripple’s XRP holdings. By March 31, 2024, Ripple’s holdings had dropped to 44.94 billion tokens, marking the first time that the company’s holdings fell below 45% of XRP’s maximum supply.
During Q1 2024, Ripple sold 841.5 million XRP, equivalent to $440.6 million at the current price of $0.5236 per XRP. This indicates 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 and subject to monthly releases. However, the latest data shows that this escrow balance has further decreased to 39.7 billion XRP due to additional sales in April and May. Additionally, Ripple’s spendable balance now stands at 4.84 billion XRP, down by 237 million from the previous quarter.
The continuous XRP sales by Ripple have raised concerns among some market participants about the potential impact on XRP’s performance. However, Ripple CTO David Schwartz has reassured that these sales are necessary and will not harm price stability. Schwartz explained that Ripple needs to reduce its XRP holdings significantly and burning tokens would not have a positive impact on the price, as evidenced by the example of Stellar.
Despite the challenges faced by Ripple, XRP’s price remains bullish. After testing support at an intra-day low of $0.514, XRP has risen to $0.52, reflecting a 1.195% increase.
In conclusion, Ripple’s XRP spot trading volumes experienced a significant surge of 40% in Q1 2024, reaching $865 million. However, the company’s XRP holdings fell below 45% for the first time, now standing at 44.9 billion tokens. Ripple’s ongoing XRP sales have generated concerns, but the company maintains that these sales are necessary and will not negatively impact price stability. Despite the challenges, XRP’s price continues to show a bullish trend.