Ripple Co-Founder Moves $175M XRP, Draws Criticism Over Timing

A wallet tied to Ripple co-founder Chris Larsen moved 50 million XRP, worth around $175 million, between July 17 and Wednesday, sparking backlash from the crypto community amid a pullback in XRP’s price.

Blockchain sleuth ZachXBT flagged the transactions in a Thursday post on X, noting that roughly $140 million of the XRP (XRP) was sent to centralized exchanges or services. The transfers to exchanges are usually interpreted as an intent to cash out.

“Wallets linked to Chris Larsen still hold over 2.81 billion XRP (worth $8.4 billion),” ZachXBT noted, replying to a user who said, “It’s baffling how much they have and people buy this shit.”

XRP, currently trading at around $3.09, has a market cap of $183 billion. This means the value of Larsen’s holdings accounts for about 4.6% of XRP’s total market cap, which could create strong sell pressure if moved rapidly.

Related: XRP threatens drop to $3: Will bulls step in to buy the dip?

Larsen accused of “dumping” near local high

The timing of Larsen’s XRP transfers drew criticism. The transfer came as XRP touched a local high above $3.60 on Friday, before falling below $3.10, leading some to accuse Larsen of “dumping” on the market.

“Chad for dumping on his autistic fan base,” one X user said. “Game is game,” ZachXBT quipped in a follow-up post.

Another user expressed frustration over the recurring pattern of insider selloffs, asking how Ripple continues to hold a top-five ranking amid “predatory dumping.”

Not everyone agreed with the criticism. A user called 0xLouisT argued the move was about “decentralizing his holdings to longer-term holders to ensure a fair decentralization of the network and supply.”

Larsen had not publicly commented on the matter at the time of publication. Cointelegraph reached out to Ripple for comment but had not received a response by publication.

Related: Can XRP price reach $20? These charts say ‘full bull’ phase is still ahead

XRP eyes 2018 high despite drop

According to Bitpanda’s deputy CEO, Lukas Enzersdorfer-Konrad, XRP remains in a position to potentially break its 2018 all-time high of $3.84 despite the recent dip.

Enzersdorfer-Konrad noted that XRP’s future upside will largely depend on favorable market conditions and continued capital rotation from Bitcoin into altcoins. He said that there’s no unique catalyst pushing XRP on its own, and broader market momentum is key.

Magazine: XRP win leaves Ripple a ‘bad actor’ with no crypto legal precedent set