A notable 3 billion XRP, representing 5.4% of its circulating supply, was moved in a series of eight transactions, including two escrow releases. This month's escrow release was notably delayed, missing the usual midnight execution time. Although such delays have occurred before, this is the first time both 500 million XRP transactions faced significant delays.

Breakdown of the XRP Movements

The first of the highlighted transactions took place at 21:30 UTC on June 1, moving 200 million XRP between Ripple wallets. Four minutes later, the sender transferred an additional 300 million XRP to another wallet, totaling 500 million XRP. Another Ripple address then moved 500 million XRP to a company-affiliated wallet at 21:38 UTC. Shortly after, this recipient address locked the 500 million XRP in escrow, bringing the total moved to 1.5 billion XRP. Following this, the address that received 300 million XRP in the earlier transaction also locked up these tokens in escrow.

With this transaction, the total transferred volume rose to 1.8 billion XRP, with 800 million tokens locked in escrow. Interestingly, despite locking up 800 million XRP in escrow, Ripple had not yet released any tokens for June. After this lockup, the firm moved another 200 million XRP to a different wallet, increasing the total volume to 2 billion tokens.

Ripple’s Escrow Unlocks

In an unconventional move, Ripple unlocked the first 500 million XRP from escrow at 21:55 UTC. Three minutes later, another batch of 500 million XRP was unlocked. These transactions brought Ripple’s total transferred volume to 3 billion XRP within a short span between 21:30 and 21:58 UTC on June 1.

This unusual volume of 3 billion XRP marked the second instance where Ripple unlocked a total of 1 billion XRP on the first day of the month. Since February, Ripple typically releases only 500 million tokens on the first, sometimes releasing an additional 500 million tokens later or skipping this second release altogether.

For example, last month, Ripple released 500 million XRP on the first day, two hours after midnight. Though the firm locked back 800 million tokens, the second batch of 500 million XRP was delayed until three days later.

Conclusion

This significant movement of XRP highlights unusual activity in Ripple's transactions, raising questions about the firm's escrow practices. Investors should remain vigilant and conduct thorough research before making investment decisions.