Rise In XRP Whales Threatens To Send Available Supply To New Levels Of Scarcity

As a researcher with experience in the cryptocurrency market, I find the concentration of XRP tokens among whale addresses to be an intriguing phenomenon. The data on XRP’s supply distribution indicates that this digital asset could face a potential supply crunch in the near future. Chad Steingraber, an XRP proponent, recently brought attention to this issue on social media, and I believe his observations hold significant weight.


As an analyst, I’ve noticed that XRP has a larger-than-expected number of whale addresses holding substantial amounts of the cryptocurrency. The distribution of XRP’s supply reveals an intriguing concentration among these significant wallets. Chad Steingraber, an advocate for XRP, recently brought this observation to light on social media platforms. With the SEC lawsuit against Ripple nearing its conclusion, there is a growing anticipation that XRP could experience a supply crunch in the near future due to this concentration of holdings among the whales.

Increase In XRP Whales Raise Scarcity Concerns

As a researcher investigating the cryptocurrency landscape, I’ve come across an intriguing observation regarding Ripple (XRP). Contrary to its vast total circulating supply of 100 billion XRP tokens, the publicly accessible supply is remarkably scarce. This discrepancy was recently brought to light by Steingraber’s insightful analysis.

The scarcity of XRP is partly attributed to Ripple’s management of over half the supply through an escrow mechanism. This system restricts a set quantity, roughly 40 billion XRP tokens, from entering the market circulation. Consequently, this regulated release model has engendered an illusory shortage. With demand significantly surpassing the rate at which these restricted XRP are being made available for trade, there is a substantial push among buyers to acquire the limited XRP listed on exchanges.

From a researcher’s perspective, I’ve discovered that approximately 39 billion XRP tokens are held in escrow, leaving only around 55.6 billion XRP available in circulation for retail traders. However, the distribution of XRP among the top addresses is skewed significantly. The top 10 addresses alone hold about 20.4% of the entire supply, which amounts to roughly 11.2 billion XRP. Even more striking, the top 50 addresses control a staggering 48.3% of the current circulating supply, with a collective total of around 26.9 billion XRP.

As an analyst, I’d like to point out that the total publicly available XRP supply is significantly less than what many people might assume. In reality, you won’t encounter 100 Billion units of XRP circulating in the open market.
It will vaporize into a small scarce amount.
Retail trading determines the price.
— Chad Steingraber (@ChadSteingraber) June 22, 2024

As a crypto investor, I’ve noticed an intriguing disparity between the distribution of wealth among the top Bitcoin address holders and the total circulating supply. Specifically, the top 103 Bitcoin addresses control less than 16% of the entire supply. This gap becomes even more pronounced when comparing the maximum supplies of various cryptocurrencies.

What Does This Mean For XRP?

The scarcity of XRP held by a smaller number of investors could lead to significant price increases if they choose not to sell. Though this may be worrying for new retail traders aiming to purchase XRP, it also indicates robust faith in XRP’s future market trends. According to Steingraber’s analysis, the retail market sets prices, so an uptick in demand from individual investors will eventually result in a price rise.

Currently, XRP is priced at $0.4759, representing a 6.28% decrease over the last week. Notably, this downward trend appears to have stabilized within the previous 24 hours. The bears have been active around $0.4620, suggesting potential volatility in XRP’s price movement during July. Based on historical data from CryptoRank, XRP has displayed upward trends in its pricing during the month of July over the past four years.

Rise In XRP Whales Threatens To Send Available Supply To New Levels Of Scarcity

Back in July 2023, I observed an impressive 47.6% price hike for XRP after experiencing a 8.15% dip in its value during the previous month. Interestingly enough, the current trend seems reminiscent of that June 2023 decline, with XRP showing a similar 8.18% decrease as of now. Based on historical patterns, there’s a strong possibility that we could witness another price surge and potentially reach around $0.70 by the end of July 2024.

Rise In XRP Whales Threatens To Send Available Supply To New Levels Of Scarcity

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2024-06-25 22:12