A wallet linked to Ripple co-founder Chris Larsen transferred 50 million XRP—worth approximately $175 million—between July 17 and Wednesday, drawing sharp criticism from the crypto community as XRP’s price experienced a pullback.
Blockchain investigator ZachXBT highlighted the transactions in a post on X Thursday, revealing that around $140 million worth of XRP was sent to centralized exchanges—often a signal of an intent to sell.
“Wallets linked to Chris Larsen still hold over 2.81 billion XRP (worth $8.4 billion),” ZachXBT added in response to a user who remarked, “It’s baffling how much they have and people buy this shit.”
XRP is currently trading at roughly $3.09, giving it a market cap of $183 billion. Larsen’s holdings represent about 4.6% of the total supply, a significant amount that could exert substantial selling pressure if liquidated quickly.
Larsen Accused of “Dumping” XRP Near Recent Price Peak
The timing of Chris Larsen’s XRP transfers sparked controversy, as they coincided with a local price peak above $3.60 last Friday. Shortly after, XRP dropped below $3.10, prompting accusations that Larsen had “dumped” tokens at the market top.
“Chad for dumping on his autistic fan base,” one user on X remarked bluntly. Blockchain sleuth ZachXBT responded with a curt, “Game is game.”
Others voiced broader frustration over what they see as a recurring pattern of insider selloffs. One user questioned how Ripple manages to maintain a top-five market ranking despite what they described as “predatory dumping.”
Not everyone shared the critical view. A user named 0xLouisT defended the move, suggesting it was aimed at “decentralizing his holdings to longer-term holders to promote fair distribution of the network and token supply.”
As of publication, Larsen had not issued any public statement regarding the transactions.
XRP Targets 2018 High Despite Recent Pullback
Bitpanda deputy CEO Lukas Enzersdorfer-Konrad believes XRP could still challenge its 2018 all-time high of $3.84, despite the recent downturn.
He emphasized that XRP’s potential for further gains hinges on broader market conditions and continued capital flow from Bitcoin into altcoins. According to Enzersdorfer-Konrad, there’s no distinct catalyst driving XRP independently—its momentum is largely tied to the overall altcoin cycle.
