Ripple locks 700M tokens as XRP turns 11

• The blockchain firm locked millions of XPR as part of its usual monthly procedure.
• XRP circulation increased in the last seven days.

The Ripple [XRP] token marked the 11th anniversary of its creation since the founding team developed it back on 2 June 2012. With the aim to create a better Bitcoin [BTC] version, David Schwarts, alongside Arthur Brito and Jed McCaleb, decided to create XPR on its own ledger— the XRP Ledger (XRPL).

Bolt-on the process

At press time, XRP’s value was $0.51. This represented an 8,679.89% hike in the price since it began trading live in the market.

Prior to the commemoration, Ripple, the company behind the digital asset locked 700 million XRP tokens into a series of escrows.

This move was part of Ripple’s ongoing efforts to manage the supply and distribution of XRP. The XRP escrow mechanism was designed to ensure a steady and predictable release of XRP into the market. 

Each month, a portion of the escrowed XRP is released, while the remaining amount is returned to a new escrow for future release. 

Although introduced in 2017, this process helps prevent large amounts of XRP from flooding the market at once, which could potentially impact its price and market stability. By locking 700 million XRP, Ripple demonstrated its commitment to responsible token management and reducing any potential concerns of market manipulation. 

Decreasing issuance rising participation

Despite the action, the daily net amount of XRPL trust lines remained in the negative region at -2700. Trust lines are structures in the XRP ledger dedicated to holding XRP tokens. This decrease means that the momentum of  XRP issuance slowed down.

Source: Santiment

Concerning its development activity, Ripple has not held back despite facing regulatory challenges. The metric served as a measure of the public GitHub contribution to the Ripple network. 

As of this writing, the metric was 5.17, as shown above. Hence, this suggested increased deduction toward polishing the Ripple blockchain.

In addition, XRP’s seven-day circulation increased to 2.93 billion. Circulation reflected the number of unique tokens transacted within a day. 

Oftentimes, an increase in this metric means increased trading activity. However, its increase implies a hesitation in market participation. However, this has failed to show in the transaction which has severely decreased since 28 May.

Source: Santiment

In conclusion, Ripple’s decision to lock a significant amount of XRP in escrow aligns with its long-term strategy. One such happens to be its aim to foster confidence and trust in the XRP ecosystem. 

As for the token, short to long-term performance might depend on the final judgment in its case with the SEC. For now, the community is optimistic about the outcome.