Ripple releases $1.6 billion in XRP despite token’s continued decline

February 2, 2026

Ripple (XRP) recently unlocked 1 billion tokens valued at around $1.6 billion from escrow on February 1st, adhering to its monthly release schedule. This event occurred as the cryptocurrency continued to face losses in February after experiencing a decline of over 10% in January.

The tokens were released in four separate transfers, consisting of 100 million, 400 million, 100 million, and 400 million XRP. These monthly unlocks are part of a supply management strategy implemented in 2017 by Ripple, where the company placed 55 billion XRP into escrow, allowing for the release of up to 1 billion tokens each month. Typically, Ripple relocks between 60% and 80% of the tokens that were unlocked, retaining only a portion for operational needs or liquidity requirements.

Recent reports from Whale Alert indicated that Ripple relocked 700 million XRP in two transactions totaling approximately $1.09 billion, leaving 300 million XRP unlocked. XRP’s value has decreased by more than 6% in the first two days of February, currently trading at $1.57.

Analysts hold different views on the future of XRP, with one suggesting that the token is following established long-term cycles and predicting that the next significant rally may not occur until Q4 2028, with price targets of $8 to $10. David Schwartz, a key architect of the XRP Ledger, presented a more cautious perspective.

He pointed out that if rational investors truly believed that XRP had a 10% chance of reaching $100 in a few years, the token would not be trading at its current levels. Schwartz noted that the fact that XRP is currently trading well below $10 indicates that there are not many investors who genuinely believe it has a 10% chance of reaching $100 within a few years, with enough confidence to invest in it.

In other news, two Ethereum whales recently offloaded $371 million to repay Aave loans.