Escrow share continues to decline
Debate over XRP’s supply structure has resurfaced after lawyer Bill Morgan said the amount of XRP locked in Ripple’s escrow accounts has fallen to below 32.5% of total supply. About a year ago, that figure was close to 36%. Morgan argued that some market participants are still citing older estimates of 35% or even 40%, even though current on-chain data points to a lower escrow share.
Ripple uses escrow accounts to manage the scheduled release of XRP into the market. Under that structure, 1 billion XRP is unlocked each month, but not all of it remains in circulation. According to Morgan, an average of roughly 300 million XRP per month is not relocked and is instead used for institutional partnerships, liquidity services, and broader ecosystem development. As a result, the portion of XRP held in escrow has gradually declined over time.
Outdated supply claims face pushback
Morgan said public blockchain data should make the picture clearer, yet outdated supply statistics continue to circulate. He specifically challenged claims that Ripple still controls more than half of all XRP, saying those assertions no longer match the currently visible numbers. In his view, the shrinking escrow balance indicates that Ripple’s locked holdings are exerting less influence over overall XRP liquidity.
If the present trend continues, Morgan estimates that the escrow share could drop to below 29% of total supply by next July. That would further reduce the relative weight of Ripple’s locked reserves in XRP’s broader token distribution and could reshape how the market evaluates concentration and supply overhang concerns.
Latest unlock brings limited market stress
The comments came shortly after Ripple completed its planned July release of 1 billion XRP. Monthly unlock events often spark fears of additional sell pressure, but Ripple’s historical pattern has been to relock most of the released tokens rather than sell them outright. That practice has helped contain market anxiety around each scheduled release.
Price action after the latest event was relatively firm. XRP rose by around 3% to 4%, moved above $1.10, and reached $1.12. Continued demand at elevated levels has strengthened the view that the $1.10 area may now be acting as support rather than resistance.
More broadly, the latest disclosures have revived discussion around XRP tokenomics. Supporters see the falling escrow share as a sign of a more market-oriented and increasingly distributed supply structure. For investors focused on sell-side risk, however, the key question remains how much of each monthly unlock is actually returned to the market instead of being placed back into escrow.