Ripple Locks Away 470M XRP in Latest Supply Squeeze—But Markets Yawn

Another day, another token lock-up—Ripple’s latest move to ’manage supply’ by stashing 470 million XRP in escrow feels more like a band-aid on a bullet wound. Here’s why the crypto giant’s playbook needs a rewrite.

Supply Shock or Snooze Button?

Ripple’s escrow maneuvers are becoming as predictable as a Wall Street analyst missing a bear market call. While 470 million XRP sounds hefty, it’s a drop in the ocean for a token with a 100 billion max supply—and traders know it.

The Real Liquidity Test

Price action post-announcement? Flat. Demand for XRP? Still tied to courtroom drama rather than utility. Until Ripple proves it can do more than move tokens between its own wallets, even a billion locked coins won’t spark a rally.

Bonus jab: Nothing says ’decentralization’ like a single company playing puppet master with 5% of the total supply—but hey, it’s crypto. Since when did irony matter?

Ripple’s race for a catalyst

A recent Glassnode report showed that 70% of XRP’s capital was scooped up NEAR the $3.40 peak. Translation? A lot of holders are stuck underwater, and the pressure to sell is quietly mounting.

Backing that up, XRP’s MVRV ratio slid from a lofty 2.44 in mid-May (when the token touched $2.58) down to 2.04 today. 

Simply put, investors are watching their unrealized profits shrink, and many are eyeing the exit ramp, ready to break even before the next squeeze squeezes harder.

Source: Glassnode

As a result, Ripple is now entering that tricky zone where patience and panic start to blur. 

The clock’s ticking, and unrealized profits are slipping. Consequently, pushing the market, on the lookout for a fresh spark to keep FOMO blazing.

Otherwise, if FOMO doesn’t kick back in soon, XRP could find itself in Solana’s shoes, where holders began cutting losses and confidence took a hit.

Enter liquidity squeeze: XRP locks supply

Under the hood, Ripple’s devs seem to be pulling the classic liquidity squeeze playbook. 

They just locked 470 million XRP back into escrow. The idea? Squeeze supply, bump up value. But when you zoom out, that MOVE barely makes a dent.

XRP has over 58.7 billion tokens in circulation, with a total supply capped at 100 billion. That’s massive compared to Bitcoin’s 21 million. And that sheer scale is exactly why many argue XRP will never hit sky-high valuations like $10,000.

One analyst recently broke it down: If BTC ever hits $100 million per coin, 1 XRP WOULD max out at around $20. But with inflation factored in, that’s more like $1 in today’s dollars.

Source: TradingView (XRP/BTC)

That’s the catch with XRP – it’s got utility, sure, but the tokenomics put a ceiling on its long-term upside. That’s why it often feels stuck.

And if Ripple doesn’t tighten up those fundamentals, the current cracks in holder confidence could widen fast. In turn, turning quiet frustration into open capitulation.