Ripple CTO Says Ripple Has Only Two Choices for its 40B XRP

The Chief Technology Officer of Ripple has elucidated the courses of action available to the payment company concerning its holdings in XRP.

This disclosure surfaces amid ongoing discussions within the crypto community regarding Ripple’s consistent sale of XRP.

Prominent crypto influencer with X username “Mr. Huber” called attention to Ripple’s XRP sales record in multiple posts. Mr. Huber highlighted that Ripple’s public XRP distribution for December 2023 was nearly three times more than the average figure of its usual monthly deals.

Data accessible through Ripple’s API suggested the firm’s December XRP deals hit 238 million tokens. This is equivalent to $142 million at an average XRP price of $0.6. 

The Crypto Basic previously pointed out Ripple’s six-month average sale of XRP was around $52 million, considering the periodic buybacks. Moreover, Mr. Huber stated that the payment firm has exceeded eight weeks without a single XRP buyback. 

Meanwhile, the revelation of Ripple’s XRP marketing elicited various reactions from the community. For instance, an X user remarked:

“So if they decide to sell more and more. I was really wondering how the coin will rise in value. That’s something I am really [worried about].”

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Similarly, another X user raised a concern, questioning whether Ripple’s primary business focus currently revolves around continuously selling XRP.

The commenter suggested Ripple might heavily rely on XRP marketing: “They couldn’t resist without it.”

This particular insinuation caught the attention of Ripple’s CTO, David Schwartz.

Ripple’s CTO Reacts

In response, Schwartz presented the company’s perspective. He stated that Ripple has two options: either maintaining its current level of XRP portfolio or actively reducing the amount it holds. 

Ripple has two choices. We can continue to hold as much XRP as we do or we can reduce the amount of XRP that we hold. There really isn’t any third option. Ripple’s original plan was to reduce our XRP holdings as quickly as we could.

— David “JoelKatz” Schwartz (@JoelKatz) January 8, 2024

Furthermore, he emphasized that there is no third alternative. The CTO reiterated that Ripple’s initial strategy was to decrease its XRP holdings as rapidly as possible.

Essentially, Ripple’s CTO comment sought to clarify the foundation for the unyielding distribution of XRP.

Renowned crypto author Panos Mekra stated that Ripple’s choice to market XRP was the best. However, he suggested an alternative approach. He advocated for the majority of XRP to be donated to the XRP Ledger Foundation (XRPLF).

In turn, XRPLF would oversee the distribution of the XRP tokens through various channels, including community and project incentives, marketing efforts, and educational initiatives related to XRPL.

Notably, Ripple API data shows the firm holds 40,700,000,005 (40.7 billion) XRP in escrow as of December 31, 2023.