Ripple Ushers in the New Year with a Sale: 1,000,000,000 XRP Makes Its Way Out of Escrow
The new year opened with a familiar but closely watched event in the XRP ecosystem as Ripple released 1 billion XRP from escrow on January 1, 2026. The opening came at a critical time for price action, coming just after XRP closed December 2025 in the red.
Larger escrow withdrawals often result concerns about selling pressurebut early on-chain activity suggests that a typical Ripple pattern is already emerging, with a significant portion of the open supply being prepared for re-locking.
How the 1 Billion XRP Escrow Release Happened
Blockchain data shows the release occurred in three large transactions, all settled within a small window of time on January 1. Soon the year began, 300 million XRP, with an estimated value of $ 552 million, it was opened and sent to the address rMhkqz, identified as a Ripple wallet (28). Soon after, another 200 million XRP, worth about $368 million, followed by the same bag, bringing Ripple’s imports (28) to half a billion XRP in seconds.
The last and biggest part it went into the third bag where 500 million XRP, with a value of approximately $ 920 million, was withdrawn from the address of r9NpyV, designated as a Ripple fund (9). Together, these transactions completed the escrow release of 1 billion XRP, immediately increasing the circulating supply of the paper.
The timing of the escrow release adds complexity to the near-term view of XRP. XRP ended December 2025 with a monthly red close of 14.8%. Notably, this was the first time XRP closed December in the red since 2022. An influx of open tokens during that period can increase bearish sentiment, especially among short-term traders who are sensitive to supply changes.
Relocking Career As Ripple Iterates Its Playbook
History shows that Ripple has consistently re-closed between 70% and 80% of monthly escrow releases, a practice that has helped soften long-term supply shocks. Interestingly, activity after opening shows that this pattern is repeated within 24 hours of opening. Transaction records from XRPScan reveal that funds from Ripple’s wallet (9) were quickly moved to new withdrawal systems, and a large portion of what was newly withdrawn was immediately withdrawn from use.
Millions of tokens were sent from both Ripple (9) and Ripple (28) simultaneously. At 17:17 UTC, an escrow creation locked 500 million XRP to a Ripple address (15), followed by another escrow creation at 17:21 UTC that secured 100 million XRP in the same wallet.
Related Reading: Ripple’s XRP Ledger Just Did Something Bitcoin Never Did
A similar activity was also observed from Ripple (14), when a separate escrow creation locked 100 million XRP at 17:19 UTC. Combined, these purchases accounted for 700 million XRP that have been returned to escrow.
The appearance of escrow creation activities changes the narrative of offer abandonment. Instead of an outright sale, the data points to a controlled resale in line with Ripple’s escrow management strategy. XRP’s price response will likely depend on the release of the escrow title itself and more on how much is left open. supply reaches crypto trading.
Featured image from Medium, chart from Tradingview.com
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