In 2017, Ripple announced the decision to lock billions of XRP cryptocurrency in dozens of smart contracts designed for value preservation.
In response to concerns about potentially releasing a large amount of XRP into the market, Ripple transferred 55 billion of its 80 billion XRP tokens into a locked account in 2017, from which a maximum of 1 billion tokens can be released each month.
This aims to help improve the transparency and predictability of XRP sales. Locked XRP tokens are considered "unallocated," while the remainder constitutes the circulating supply. Any unsold tokens will be returned to the lock-up and reallocated later.
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In a recent tweet, XRP enthusiast Bill Morgan highlighted a post by Ripple CEO Brad Garlinghouse from 2017 announcing the lock-up of XRP, which was about eight years ago.
Garlinghouse explained the benefits of the lock-up eight years ago: * Predictability of supply; * Trustworthy XRP market. Even eight years later, if you disagree with him, there are still many compelling reasons to suggest that releasing XRP from the lock-up does not provide a helpful explanation… https://t.co/i149bLmnNk pic.twitter.com/JJ990pJPi5
—— Bill Morgan (@Belisarius2020) August 12, 2025
In the tweet, Garlinghouse explained the purpose of the lock-up, noting that it is beneficial for "predictability of supply and a trustworthy, healthy XRP market."
What is happening now?
Data from XRP ledger explorer XRPScan provides insights into the current allocation of XRP. The maximum supply of XRP is 100,000,000,000 XRP, with a current available total of 99,985,835,620 XRP. The current circulating supply is 64,363,269,902 XRP, with a total of 14,164,380 XRP already destroyed.
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The burning of XRP occurs natively through transaction fees on the XRP ledger. Each transaction includes a small amount of XRP that is permanently destroyed, helping to prevent spam and improve network efficiency.
According to XRPScan data, a total of 35,608,401,338 XRP tokens are locked, while the number of active XRP accounts is close to 7 million, reaching 6,837,166. The current number of XRP ledgers is 98,108,655.
As of the time of writing, the trading price of XRP is $3.11, having reached a high of $3.66 on July 18.
