Blockchain tracker Whale Alert reported that Ripple has unlocked 400 million XRP tokens, valued at approximately $217 million. The unlock transaction aroused the curiosity of members of the crypto community due to the unusual timing of it and the mysterious message that accompanied the transfer.
Ripple Changed Usual Unlock Schedule
Members of the Ripple community are raising eyebrows about this unexpected unlock, noting its deviation from the typical schedule. Traditionally, the company issues approximately 1 billion XRP tokens from its escrow wallet on the first day of each month, a practice that is integral to its operating system.
However, in February, only half a billion coins were locked in escrow. Therefore, several members of the community are speculating about the nature of the transaction, putting forward various theories.
However, the increase in circulating supply by 400 million tokens did not have a significant impact on the price of XRP. At the time of publication, the asset is trading at $0.537.
Satoshi Nakamoto Praised XRP
Emails revealed conversations between Bitcoin creator Satoshi Nakamoto and early BTC developer Martti Malmi that indicate Nakamoto admired Ripple.
The project, originally conceived by Ryan Fugger in 2004 under the name RipplePay, was intended to pioneer decentralized digital currency systems, predating the advent of Bitcoin. During the exchange, Malmi brought up Ripple, recognizing its innovative potential.
“Ripple is interesting because it is the only system that does anything with trust other than concentrate it on a central server,” Nakamoto noted.
Ripple (XRP) Price Prediction: Bull Run in March?
Ripple’s XRP has underperformed lately, with its price dropping over 4% on a weekly scale (per CoinGecko’s data). Nonetheless, the crypto space is rammed with analysts who remain confident that the negative trend will soon be over.
According to the X user XRP whale, next month “will be historic” for the asset. The XRP enthusiast with over 100K followers further predicted a price appreciation above $10, which could be reached after passing through significant turbulence.
Very soon $XRP will pump to $1
Then it’ll fall to $0.80
Then it’ll fly towards $2
Then it’ll test $1.50
Then it’ll pump again towards $3.30
Then it’ll fall to $3
Then it’ll continue towards $10#XRP
— XRP whale (@realXRPwhale) February 25, 2024
EGRAG CRYPTO also shared his thoughts and suggested more spectacular peaks. The analyst compared XRP’s performance from 2017 with the current “cycle’s bottom” to forecast a price explosion of $27:
“XRP only needs to increase by 7X from its 2017 levels to reach $27. This is my target, and I plan to sell at various price points to secure profits.”
The VR Soldier analysts previously explored Ripple’s historical moves, and some important factors indeed suggest that XRP could be on the verge of a bull run this year.
