Ripple is on track to release XRP worth about $1.5 billion next week as the asset witnesses increased investor interest.
The October 1 release will unlock 1 billion XRP from Ripple’s escrow accounts as part of the company’s long-running supply management program.
The upcoming release is part of Ripple’s escrow system established in 2017, when the company locked 55 billion XRP into a series of on-ledger escrow contracts designed to make token distributions predictable.
According to XRP Ledger escrow data, approximately 31.98 billion XRP remains locked. The next scheduled release is set for October 1, when up to 1 billion XRP will become available. Based on XRP’s current price, the unlocked tokens are worth roughly $1.54 billion.
Although the monthly release often attracts attention due to its size, Ripple has historically returned a substantial portion of the unlocked XRP to new escrow contracts.
As a result, the actual increase in circulating supply is typically lower than the headline 1 billion XRP figure.
Still, the event remains closely watched because any increase in circulating supply can create short-term selling pressure if demand fails to absorb the additional tokens.
Conversely, a muted market reaction could reinforce the view that investors have already priced in the scheduled release.
XRP whale accumulation on the rise
The scheduled unlock comes as large investors continue increasing their XRP exposure. In this regard, data shared by crypto analyst Ali Martinez in an X post on September 25 indicates that whales accumulated more than 470 million XRP over five days, equivalent to about $724 million at current market prices.
XRP whale activity chart. Source: Santiment
Santiment data cited by Martinez shows whale holdings climbed from roughly 12.37 billion XRP on September 21 to approximately 12.80 billion XRP by September 24.
The trend suggests some large holders are positioning for further upside despite the approaching supply release.
At the same time, Martinez noted that XRP continues to form an inverse head-and-shoulders pattern on the daily chart, a technical setup often monitored for potential breakout opportunities.
XRP technical outlook
At the current price of $1.54, XRP is trading well above its 50-day simple moving average (SMA) of roughly $1.31 and its 200-day SMA of about $1.28.
When an asset trades above both moving averages, it generally indicates buyers remain in control of the medium- and long-term trend. The fact that the 50-day SMA remains above the 200-day SMA further supports the bullish outlook and points to sustained upward momentum.
Meanwhile, XRP’s 14-day Relative Strength Index (RSI) stands near 64, placing the token in neutral-to-bullish territory.
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