Ripple Chairman Chris Larsen Moves 50M XRP for the First Time in 11 Years

A wallet belonging to Ripple Chairman Chris Larsen moves 50 million XRP to a new unidentified address.

Interestingly, the recent transaction marked the first notable outbound transfer from the wallet for the first time since its creation. Notably, this wallet was created in the early days of the XRPL and funded with a whopping 500 million XRP in February 2013, representing part of the XRP allocations to the Ripple Chairman.

Since then, the wallet has failed to move any of the tokens, only transferring out 1 XRP in December 2017. However, most recently, whale tracking resource Whale Alert indexed the latest substantial outflow from the address last night.

🚨 🚨 50,000,000 #XRP (29,120,312 USD) transferred from Chris Larsen to unknown wallethttps://t.co/D9iopMqePM

— Whale Alert (@whale_alert) September 16, 2024

Details of the XRP Transaction

On-chain data confirms that this transaction occurred on Sept. 16, at 23:17 UTC, involving exactly 50 million XRP worth $29.12 million at the time. Interestingly, the assets moved to rao…gzS, an unknown address created specifically for this transfer. 

Considering the nature of the transaction and the fact that this wallet had retained its tokens since inception, speculation arose regarding the possibility of another hack. However, The Crypto Basic can confirm that this is unlikely.

Recall that similar fund movements involving another one of Larsen’s wallets occurred in February. Nonetheless, these transfers were the product of a hacking incident that stole millions in XRP from the Ripple Chairman’s wallet, as confirmed by The Crypto Basic. The hackers siphoned over 212 million XRP.

Internal Fund Movement

However, on-chain data suggests the latest fund movement might have been authorized by Larsen himself. Notably, the sending wallet in question was responsible for the activation of the recipient wallet rao…gzS. 

After activating the address with 10 XRP at 23:11, the Larsen wallet then moved the 50 million XRP to the address. At the reporting time, the recipient address has held onto the tokens, further dispelling concerns of an exploit.

With the possibility of a hack out of the way, the purpose of the transaction remains open to multiple speculations. Some proponents lightheartedly suggested that the funds could be used to support the Kamala Harris campaign. However, this remains speculative.

For context, The Crypto Basic reported two weeks back that the Ripple Chairman was one of 88 business executives who revealed support for Harris in her presidential ambition. Larsen became the second top crypto executive to publicly back Harris following an endorsement from Uphold co-founder J.P. Theriot.