Onchain data reveals that a wallet widely believed to belong to Ripple co-founder Chris Larsen has shuffled close to 60 million XRP since July 15, with approximately $140 million ending up at exchanges or service providers. Despite the flurry of activity, the wallet still holds a hefty stash of 282.49 million XRP, currently valued at about $897 million.
Massive XRP Transfers Uncovered
Onchain detective ZachXBT first spotlighted the large transfers on Thursday, July 26, noting that “$140M ended up at exchanges/services” since July 17. Tracing the movements, the wallet labeled “5” on xrpscan.com kicked off the transfer spree with a small test transaction of 1.6 XRP to Coinbase on July 13. That was quickly followed by four separate transfers of 2 million XRP each to the exchange. Other addresses, including one labeled “rHtLaipqqfbhg,” also received XRP and might be linked to an exchange, OTC desk, or institution.
Detailed Holdings of Larsen’s Wallet Cluster
Eight XRP wallets suspected to be tied to Ripple co-founder Chris Larsen are tagged 1 through 8 on xrpscan.com. Wallets 1 to 4 each hold slightly more than 500 million XRP, and have never made an outbound transfer. Wallet 5 contains 282.49 million XRP, wallet 6 stores 300.18 million XRP, wallet 7 carries a tiny 21.79 XRP, and wallet 8 holds 1,000,009 XRP. Collectively, Larsen’s eight wallets still hold 2.58 billion XRP, worth about $8.21 billion.
Wallets 5 and 6 once mirrored the half-billion mark as well but have since seen large withdrawals. Wallets 6 through 8 have been quiet for some time, while wallet 5 had earlier activity. For instance, 1.5 million XRP was sent to Coinbase on June 16. In fact, June saw a sizable flow of XRP from wallet 5 to multiple destinations, including “rHtLaipqqfbhg.”
Historical Context and Security Incident
It is no secret that Ripple’s co-founders amassed and retained vast reserves of XRP. While Jed McCaleb is widely believed to have liquidated much of his early holdings, Larsen suffered a wallet hack on January 30, 2024, which drained roughly 213 million XRP. Reports indicate the breach stemmed from the 2022 Lastpass security failure.
Market Interpretation and Lingering Questions
Underneath the surface of Larsen’s recent activity lies a deeper question: are these strategic reallocations, exchange-bound liquidations, or signals of something far more calculated? Neither Ripple nor Chris Larsen has publicly commented on the transfers. Market participants continue to monitor the final destinations of these large XRP movements and whether they could exert further selling pressure on XRP’s price.