Ripple, a major player in the cryptocurrency payments industry and a significant holder of XRP, has recently carried out a substantial transaction that has captured the crypto market’s attention. This move involved the transfer of 150 million XRP, which makes up about 0.25% of the total market capitalization of the digital currency.

Ripple’s Noteworthy Transfer

In a recent announcement on Wednesday, May 13, Whale Alert, a blockchain tracking and analytics platform, revealed that Ripple sold 150 million XRP tokens with a value exceeding $75.7 million. The recipient of this significant XRP transfer was an undisclosed crypto wallet address known as “rP4X2hTa7A,” which was created by Ripple.

This transfer took place in two separate transactions, an hour apart. The first transaction involved the transfer of 100 million XRP valued at around $55,776,737 from another anonymous wallet address ‘rhWt2bhRq.” The remaining 50 million XRP, worth approximately $27.8 million, was then moved to “rP4X2hTa7A.”

Data from the XRP Ledger explorer, Bithomp, indicates that Ripple has an ongoing relationship with the wallet address “rP4X2hTa7A.” Previously, on April 24, Ripple transferred 100 million XRP to this wallet address, which was then distributed to various external addresses.

It is noteworthy that this 150 million XRP transaction by Ripple followed the release of 1 billion XRP tokens on May 1, as part of its regular monthly escrow unlock process. After the release, Ripple distributed 200 million XRP to its treasury account and secured the remaining tokens in new escrow accounts.

Analysis from XRPScan revealed that Ripple’s treasury account, identified as ‘Ripple (1),’ sent the escrowed XRP tokens to the mentioned wallet address, thereby introducing new tokens into circulation. This action potentially contributes to XRP’s supply inflation.

Following the transfer to “rP4X2hTa7A,” the wallet retained 50 million XRP and transferred the remaining 100 million XRP to another unidentified wallet. If this pattern continues, it could lead to a sell-off that might impact the price of XRP, which has been hovering around the $0.5 mark.

XRP Price Trend

While Ripple’s 150 million XRP transaction is not unprecedented this year, a potential sell-off could significantly affect XRP’s value. Historically, XRP prices have seen slight declines after Ripple sells its tokens.

Reflecting this trend, Ripple’s recent XRP transfer may have contributed to a notable drop in the cryptocurrency’s price. Previously trading around $0.5, XRP’s current value stands at $0.49, showing a decline of 1.37% in the last 24 hours and 4.03% over the past week, according to CoinMarketCap.