Chris Larsen, the co-founder of Ripple, has moved 50 million XRP—worth around $175 million—since July 17. On-chain data shows that $140 million of the tokens were sent to major crypto exchanges.
The transfers come as Ripple remains locked in a long-running legal case with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), which first sued the company in 2020. The lawsuit argues that XRP was sold as an unregistered security. The case has caused major volatility in the token’s price and continues to influence investor behavior.
Blockchain researcher ZachXBT reported the movements. According to his data, some XRP went to new wallets. However, most of it landed on exchanges, which often signals potential sales.
This behavior is not unusual. Large holders—also known as whales—tend to sell during periods of legal or market risk. The goal is usually to reduce losses before conditions worsen.
However, Larsen’s move may not be a simple sell-off. In January 2025, Ripple received approval from the New York State Department of Financial Services to launch its own U.S. dollar-backed stablecoin, RLUSD. The launch marked a shift in Ripple’s roadmap toward supporting digital payments and tokenized assets.
Some market watchers now believe Larsen could be reallocating XRP to support new products or internal operations—rather than exiting the market.
Ripple has not released a public statement about the transactions, and Larsen has not commented.
With regulatory pressures rising and market uncertainty high, major crypto transfers like this continue to draw attention—not just for their size, but for what they might signal about what’s coming next.
