Ripple Unlocks $1.3B in XRP as Burn Speculation Grows

TLDR

• Ripple unlocked one billion XRP through three scheduled escrow transactions.
• Whale Alert reported the largest release at 500 million XRP.
• Ripple still holds about 38.15 billion XRP in escrow.
• David Schwartz said Ripple can re-escrow unused XRP.
• Brad Garlinghouse has previously said he is open to burning escrowed XRP.

Ripple has unlocked one billion XRP from escrow in its latest scheduled monthly release, renewing attention on how much of the remaining supply may ever reach the market.

Whale Alert reported the release through three separate XRP Ledger transactions in early June. The largest transfer unlocked 500 million XRP, worth about $666.07 million. Two other transactions released 400 million XRP, valued at $532.86 million, and 100 million XRP, worth about $133.21 million.

Ripple Unlocks One Billion XRP

The XRP Ledger has a fixed maximum supply of 100 billion tokens. According to Binance market data from early June 2026, about 61.85 billion XRP currently circulates in the open market.

Ripple still controls roughly 38.15 billion XRP in escrow after the latest release. The company normally unlocks up to one billion XRP each month, although it does not usually keep the full amount.

According to previous comments from Ripple chief technology officer David Schwartz, Ripple sends back XRP it does not expect to need, want, or use. Schwartz said that the process adds another month to the end of the escrow schedule.

The latest release does not make the final escrow date clear. Ripple’s practice of returning unused XRP means the escrow balance can extend further into the future, even after monthly releases continue.

Schwartz has said Ripple can effectively keep locked tokens from entering circulation by continuing to return them to escrow. His comments suggest the company has direct control over whether those tokens remain unavailable to the open market.

At the same time, Schwartz has said Ripple could create a similar result to selling an escrow position by transferring control of the account. His earlier remarks show that Ripple has several ways to manage the remaining balance.

Burn Debate Returns After Unlock

The release has also revived questions about whether Ripple could burn the remaining escrow balance. Ripple CEO Brad Garlinghouse has previously said he would be open to the possibility of burning XRP held in escrow.

Schwartz, however, has downplayed expectations that a large burn would automatically raise XRP’s price. He compared the idea with Stellar, whose development foundation burned 55 billion XLM tokens.

According to Schwartz, Stellar’s burn produced only a short-lived price jump. His comparison suggests Ripple executives do not view a supply burn as a guaranteed solution for XRP holders.

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