On May 1, 2026, Ripple unlocked 1 billion XRP from its reserves, worth approximately $1.38 billion based on today’s value.
David Schwartz, Ripple’s former Chief Technology Officer, recently used X (formerly Twitter) to address and disprove common misconceptions about supposed hidden methods to artificially inflate the price of the Ripple token.
Ripple Executes Its Monthly Release of 1 Billion XRP from Escrow
As a crypto investor, I’ve been following Ripple for a while now, and I understand they have a system where 1 billion XRP tokens are released from their secure accounts every month. This started back in December 2017. It’s a pretty smart move, actually. It helps everyone see exactly how many XRP are in circulation and, more importantly, it avoids huge dumps of tokens that could crash the price. It’s all about keeping things stable and transparent.
According to Whale Alert, a transaction occurred on May 1st involving four separate movements of XRP totaling 1 billion. The amounts transferred were 200 million, 300 million, 100 million, and 400 million XRP, and all originated from addresses linked to a US-based company.
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Typically, Ripple releases 200 to 300 million XRP into circulation each month. They do this by returning 70-80% of funds from old contracts to new ones. This process has three main goals.
- On the one hand, it avoids sudden sales that would generate panic among investors.
- On the other hand, it provides controlled liquidity for partnerships, institutional operations and ecosystem development.
- Finally, it offers a predictable timeline that the market can anticipate in advance.
The practice of relocking tokens usually prevents prices from dropping much, if at all. Traders anticipate these releases and include them in their predictions, lessening any negative impact from the brief increase in available tokens.
As a researcher following the project, I’ve noticed a common sentiment expressed by community members like Steffan on X: each month, a significant amount of tokens are released, but it doesn’t seem to have any impact on the price. He recently pointed out that these unlocks often just sit unused while the price remains stagnant.
David Schwartz reveals key insight about the price of XRP
David Schwartz, the former Chief Technology Officer of Ripple and the main designer of the XRP Ledger, has stated clearly that there is no hidden tool to manipulate the price of the XRP token.
David Schwartz suggests that past arguments about Ripple having a hidden strategy to easily and permanently increase the price of XRP are likely no longer valid. He believes that conditions have changed to the point where any such ‘secret weapon’ would have likely been used already, and it’s hard to believe they still have an untapped solution.
Years of oversight, increased openness about how Ripple works, and changes in the broader industry made the previous claims impossible to maintain. According to Schwartz, Ripple has always been upfront about its plans, motivations, and what it hopes to achieve.
There was a point where you could have reasonably believed Ripple could easily and significantly increase the price of XRP, perhaps holding back to get the best possible outcome. However, that argument is much harder to make now, especially considering the current situation…
— David ‘JoelKatz’ Schwartz (@JoelKatz) May 1, 2026
Schwartz responded to frequent community questions regarding Ripple Prime and Treasury. He clarified that these services aren’t intended to artificially inflate XRP prices by creating large, temporary spikes in trading volume.
Ripple’s former Chief Technology Officer wondered why, if even a small number of wealthy, logical investors thought there was a slight chance XRP could become incredibly valuable (reaching $10,000 within ten years), the price isn’t much higher right now. He suggested the lack of investment implies something suspicious is going on.
Schwartz also discussed the ongoing suggestion to destroy the 33 billion XRP currently held in reserve. He pointed to a similar situation with Stellar in 2019, where burning over 55 billion tokens didn’t significantly affect the price, and explained that such an action would be a pointless expense with no actual advantages.
As I see it, his closing statement really underscored a point he’s consistently made. He believes the long-term success of XRP hinges on its actual use – things like making international payments easier, powering decentralized financial tools, and solving real-world problems. He’s explicitly dismissing the idea that price speculation or ‘get rich quick’ schemes will drive its future. It’s all about practical application, not artificial boosts.
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2026-05-01 14:23