500 million XRP has reportedly been released from an unidentified address, with another 500 million potentially on the way, causing concerns about the price of XRP. Fox Business Senior Correspondent Charles Gasparino has revealed that the Ripple ruling may be overturned, further impacting the cryptocurrency.
Since December 2017, Ripple Labs has been implementing its monthly XRP distribution strategy, steadily releasing a portion of the asset held in escrow into circulation. Originally, the plan was to release 1 billion XRP per month for 55 months. However, due to the consistent relocking of a significant portion of these funds back into escrow, the company has extended its final escrow deadline to April 2017. As part of this strategy, a massive 500 million XRP, valued at $314.87 million, was unlocked on April 1, 2024, according to data from Whale Alert.
Interestingly, this recent release was conducted by an unknown address, in contrast to previous releases, which has sparked curiosity and speculation within the XRP community that another 500 million XRP may be released soon.
Ripple has faced criticism over the years for its unpredictable distribution strategy. In February 2024, it was reported that Ripple locked 800 million XRP shortly after its monthly release of 1 billion tokens. In the first transfer, 500 million XRP tokens (valued at $253 million at that time) were locked away after being moved from “Ripple 23” to “Ripple 11”. The second transfer involved 300 million XRP ($151 million at that time) into the escrow wallet.
In response to the release of the 500 million tokens, the price of XRP initially increased by $0.77 within 24 hours, reaching $0.6274. However, at the time of writing, the asset had declined to $0.614459, losing 2.5% of its value in the past hour.
The sudden shift from bullish to bearish for XRP is attributed to a 0.11% decrease in open interest and a 36% drop in volume. The Relative Strength Index (RSI) of the asset was at 51 a few hours ago, indicating a neutral position between being overbought and oversold. However, the 5-minute RSI had dropped to 40 at the time of writing, with the Trend Mean also confirming a neutral sentiment at 37.
Analysts suggest that if buyers fail to take control at the current price, XRP could drop as low as $0.573. On the other hand, if bulls regain control, the price could target a crucial resistance level at $0.6765.
The future price movement of XRP will largely depend on the outcome of the ongoing legal battle between Ripple and the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). Charles Gasparino of Fox Business believes that the Ripple ruling may be overturned following Judge Katherine Polk Failla’s decision in the Coinbase vs SEC case. If this happens, the price of XRP could experience a significant decline, similar to what was seen in 2020.
However, analyst JayDee has a more optimistic view, suggesting that the asset could see a 650-fold increase, as previously reported by Crypto News Flash.
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