XRP has surged nearly 600% in the past three months, with its price reaching $3.18 at one point. As the rally grabs attention, the focus returns to the token's distribution — who holds the most XRP and how concentrated is the supply? This article breaks down the latest on-chain data.
XRP Supply and Holder Overview
Ripple Labs, the creator of XRP, holds approximately 46 billion XRP, accounting for 46% of the initial total supply of 100 billion. Co-founder Chris Larsen personally holds about 5 billion XRP. Exchanges also hold significant amounts: Binance has 1.83 billion XRP, and Upbit leads among exchanges with 4.37% of total supply. As of Jan 24, 2025, XRP trades at $3.16, with a market cap of roughly $182 billion and 24-hour volume of $8.2 billion.
Over 6 Million Active Accounts
Due to blockchain anonymity, an exact count of XRP holders is impossible. Bithomp data shows approximately 6,032,259 active XRP accounts, holding a combined 99,986,575,397 XRP. However, one user may control multiple addresses and exchange wallets pool retail assets, making the actual number of individual holders uncertain.
Top 10 Wallets Control 41%, Top 100 Hold 71.74%
According to CoinCarp, the top 10 wallets control 41.04% of XRP supply; top 20 hold 50.30%; top 50 hold 63.71%; top 100 hold 71.74%. Exchange holdings: Upbit accounts for 4.37% of total supply, Binance for 1.31%, Bitbank for 0.58%, and Korbit for 0.12%.
Looking at distribution by wallet size: addresses holding 1 million to 10 million XRP account for 6.42% of supply; those between 100,000 and 1 million hold 11.14%; wallets with 1,000 to 100,000 hold 7.53%. Addresses with fewer than 1,000 XRP represent a minimal share, underlining the dominance of large holders.
Ripple Labs' Escrow Mechanism
Despite holding 46 billion XRP, most of Ripple Labs' tokens are locked in escrow and released periodically to manage supply. The company, founded in 2012, operates RippleNet for cross-border payments. This concentrated ownership supports ecosystem growth but contradicts blockchain's decentralization principle.
Risk of Concentration on Price and Market
Together, the top 20 holders control more than half of the total supply. A coordinated sell-off by major holders could crash the price and damage the project's reputation. Investors should scrutinize tokenomics, total supply, and holder concentration before committing capital.