Whales Gobble Up XRP as Escrow Unlock FUD Sparks Market Frenzy

Ripple's escrow rumors trigger panic—and opportunity.

Big money moves in while retail traders sweat.

The crypto casino rolls on.

XRP Escrow Debacle Explained

On the surface, Ripple should be having a great moment right now. Although it lost the cross-appeal for its famous SEC case, the Commission subsequently granted its biggest requests.

This has encouraged extra inflows and price jumps, but there’s been a snag. Two days ago, Ripple unlocked $3.28 billion of XRP held in escrow, triggering bearish sentiment.

Bill Morgan, a lawyer and prominent crypto analyst, explained why this shouldn’t have a long-term price impact:

Garlinghouse explained the benefits of the escrow 8 years ago:

* supply predictability;
* trusted XRP markets.

Even after eight years, if you do not agree with him, there are scores of compelling reasons why the release of XRP from escrow provides no helpful explanation of… https://t.co/i149bLmnNk pic.twitter.com/JJ990pJPi5

Essentially, the community feared that Ripple released this XRP from escrow to make a major sale. Therefore, the narrative went, it’s imperative to dump tokens as soon as possible to avoid losing out. However, this doesn’t make sense for a few reasons.

For one thing, Ripple CEO Brad Garlinghouse endorsed the XRP escrow mechanism over seven years ago. The system is intended to ensure a predictable supply and stable markets; the SEC even lauded its accomplishments.

By keeping these tokens locked, Ripple maintains an extra tool to head off calamitous economic situations.

It seems strange to totally abandon that plan while Ripple is doing well. Even if Garlinghouse was deliberately spiking a successful program, now’s a strange time to do it.

Furthermore, similar XRP escrow unlocks often occur automatically at predetermined times. Since the rumors circulated, Ripple returned these tokens to the escrow account.

In other words, this escrow debacle didn’t impact the price of XRP in the long term. Some traders may have pushed this narrative to buy tokens at a premium, as XRP whales significantly increased their holdings while the selloff rumors circulated:

900 million $XRP scooped up by whales in 48 hours! pic.twitter.com/S9sDKwDu0t

However, the whole thing seems to be a social media spectacle. Traders should be careful about believing exaggerated claims and unverified information, especially if they demand immediate action.