Unveiling the Top XRP Holders in the Ripple Network
XRP has experienced a surge in its price, surpassing $2 and increasing by 10.3% in 24 hours and 26% in the last week. This significant movement in price has reignited interest in the XRP rich list, a comprehensive dataset that provides insights into who holds the most XRP and how the supply is distributed among various wallets.
The XRP rich list serves as a valuable tool for tracking wallet balances on the XRP Ledger and ranking addresses based on their holdings. This transparency enables analysts to identify the major holders of XRP and how ownership is clustered. Data from the rich list indicates that the top 10% of XRP holders collectively possess a considerable amount of the token, with the top 10 addresses alone holding approximately 18.56% of the circulating supply. Another 24.85% is held by addresses ranked between 10 and 50, while the remaining 56.59% is spread across numerous smaller wallets. This distribution highlights a market characterized by the presence of both large participants and a broad retail base, influencing price behavior significantly.
Ripple Labs stands out as the largest single owner of XRP, with the company having placed a substantial amount of XRP into escrow to facilitate controlled releases into the market. When tokens from escrow balances are released, any unused tokens are returned to locked contracts, ensuring a transparent supply schedule. Seven of the top ten XRP wallets belong to Ripple, making it a key player in shaping the supply dynamics of XRP.
Centralized exchanges occupy prominent positions among individual XRP holders, with Binance holding the largest XRP balance in a single address. Bithumb and Uphold follow closely behind. These exchange wallets are crucial for supporting liquidity in the market, allowing for smoother trade executions, tighter spreads, and faster settlement times. However, the concentration of XRP in exchange wallets also means that sudden inflows or outflows can have a significant impact on short-term price movements.
In addition to known entities, there are several anonymous large XRP wallets that hold substantial amounts of the token. The top 50 XRP addresses control a significant portion of the circulating supply, with levels of concentration varying depending on the measurement methods used. This concentration places XRP among the more centralized large-cap cryptocurrencies, particularly when compared to proof-of-work networks that distribute supply over time.
XRP founders received substantial allocations at the token’s launch, with Chris Larsen and Jed McCaleb being two prominent figures in the XRP ecosystem. Larsen remains one of the largest individual holders of XRP, while McCaleb completed the sale of his XRP holdings over a period of years after leaving Ripple. The holdings of executives like Brad Garlinghouse remain undisclosed, adding an element of mystery to the XRP ownership landscape.
As XRP continues to trade above $2 and institutional interest grows, the XRP rich list remains a critical tool for understanding the ownership dynamics of XRP. The data reflects a network shaped by Ripple’s escrow system, exchange custody, and a diverse mix of large and small holders participating in the transparent ledger.
