Ripple, the American technology company behind the Ripple payment protocol, exchange network, and XRP cryptocurrency, have just unlocked 1 billion XRP tokens (about $302 million) from one of their escrow wallets and transferred the funds to a separate unknown wallet.
The massive transaction cost less than a penny in fees and was completed in a matter of seconds, which just goes to show how efficient and cost effective Ripple’s native XRP cryptocurrency really is.
Ripple Holds Majority of XRP
To date, Ripple holds about 60% of the total supply of XRP, with the majority of tokens locked in escrow. The company remains in control of this many tokens because they routinely sell portions of their stash to institutions, banks, crypto exchanges, and other interested parties.
Last year, 2018, Ripple sold a record amount of XRP reaching a total of $535 million according to the company’s fourth-quarter report detailing XRP sales.
1 Billion XRP Transaction Came With a Mystery Message
Large transactions like the one mentioned here are not uncommon for Ripple. However, this one caught people’s attention, as it came with a mysterious message saying:
“Crawl… Walk… Run… ;)”
While this message may not have any significant meaning behind it, it begs the question of whether it has significant meaning to why the 1 billion XRP was transferred? Who was the sum transferred to? And what will it be used for?
Forbes Names Ripple One of 2019’s Most Innovative Fintech Companies
In other news, Forbes recently published this year’s Fintech 50 list of the most innovative fintech companies in 2019, and Ripple, along with 5 other blockchain companies, made the count. The other blockchain companies are Axoni, Bitfury, Circle, Coinbase, and Gemini.
According to Forbes, they believe these 6 blockchain companies will form some sort of alliance in 2019:
“Forbes Fintech 50 2019 picks will undoubtedly form some unusual alliances as they evolve past competing against other blockchain startups, to competing in mainstream finance against long-established players.”
Moreover, Forbes describes Ripple as a potential competitor to SWIFT, as they aim to replace the decades-old interbank messaging platform with powerful blockchain technology and their native cryptocurrency, XRP.
More specifically, Forbes describes Ripple:
“Its blockchain based global settlements network aims to replace SWIFT, the interbank messaging platform that has long connected nearly every bank in the world. Ripple has also launched a service that lets companies make cross-border payments in XRP, the cryptocurrency created by its founders, which was recently second to Bitcoin in value.”
What do you think the message along with Ripple’s 1 billion XRP transaction means? Let us know what you think in the comment section below.
