Ripple's Co-Founder Sells $200 Million Worth of XRP Within a 10-Day Span – Remaining Amount Unclear
In the past 10 days, starting from July 17, 2025, Chris Larsen, the executive chairman of Ripple, has distributed a substantial amount of XRP. According to public blockchain data and investigations, approximately $200 million worth of XRP has been moved from an address linked to Larsen to various wallets, with around $140 million worth ending up on exchanges[1][2].
This transfer coincided with XRP's price retreat from a local peak near $3.66 down to about $2.95–$3.00, leading to speculation and criticism that Larsen's distribution may have contributed to downward price pressure. Some market observers and analysts characterized this activity as a significant sell-off or "dump," causing fears of increased supply hitting the market and fueling volatility[1][4].
Despite these distributions, Larsen still holds a considerable XRP stash, estimated at around 2.6–2.8 billion XRP tokens, worth roughly $8 billion, representing about 4.4% of total XRP supply. This means he remains one of the single largest potential sources of XRP supply in the market[1][3].
Notably, Brad Garlinghouse, Ripple's current CEO, never received a "founders reward"[5]. In contrast, during the finalization of the XRP Ledger in December 2012, 20 billion XRP were allocated to the three founders as compensation. Nine billion XRP were allocated to Chris Larsen and nine billion to fellow co-founder Jed McCaleb; two billion went to early engineer Arthur Britto[6].
Jed McCaleb, another Ripple co-founder, finished liquidating his "Tacostand" wallets in 2022 and has a net worth of $2.9 billion[7]. Arthur Britto, yet another Ripple co-founder, has a net worth of approximately $6.2 billion if he retained his full two-billion-token grant[8]. Forbes' April 2025 Billionaires ranking lists Jed McCaleb at $2.9 billion[9].
At press time, XRP trades at $3.11, having stabilized above $3.000 after an intraday low near $2.95 on Thursday[10]. On July 23, ZachXBT, an on-chain investigator, confirmed that wallets linked to Chris Larsen still control about 2.81 billion XRP, worth approximately $8.4 billion[11].
References:
- XRP Transfers: Chris Larsen Moves $200 Million in XRP in 10 Days
- Chris Larsen's XRP Transfers: What Happened and What Does It Mean?
- XRP Whale Watch: Chris Larsen Still Controls a Significant Amount of XRP
- XRP Price Drops as Chris Larsen Transfers Large Amount of XRP
- Ripple's Brad Garlinghouse Never Received a "Founders Reward"
- The Allocation of XRP Tokens to Ripple's Founders
- Jed McCaleb's Net Worth: From Ripple Co-Founder to Billionaire
- Arthur Britto's Net Worth: The Ripple Co-Founder's Wealth
- Forbes' April 2025 Billionaires Ranking
- XRP Price: Current Market Data
- ZachXBT Confirms Chris Larsen Still Controls 2.81 Billion XRP
Following the transfer of roughly $200 million worth of XRP by Chris Larsen, questions have arisen about the impact of this large-scale investment on the finance market. As Larsen still holds a significant portion of XRP, totaling around 2.8 billion tokens, worth approximately $8.4 billion, he remains a potential source of increased supply in the blockchain technology-based finance market.
