Pundit: We Are about to See Billions of XRP Locked Up. Here’s Why

$XRP A structural shift is quietly forming in the XRP ecosystem, one that could dramatically alter the token’s supply dynamics.

Liquidity that once moved freely across exchanges is increasingly finding its way into contracts, custody solutions, and yield-bearing platforms. Investors focused only on daily price swings may be unprepared for the scale and speed of this change.

Crypto commentator Zach Rector sounded the alarm on X, predicting that billions of XRP tokens will soon be locked up and deployed across multiple decentralized finance (DeFi) protocols. His view highlights a coming “supply shock,” as vast amounts of XRP are removed from active circulation and redirected into long-term on-chain and institutional arrangements.

✨DeFi Expansion on the XRPL

Central to this trend is the rapid evolution of the XRP Ledger (XRPL) and its new Ethereum Virtual Machine (EVM) sidechain. This sidechain enables Ethereum-style smart contracts, allowing XRP to be used in lending markets, liquidity pools, and other sophisticated DeFi applications without leaving the XRPL ecosystem.

The sidechain unlocks a level of programmability that was previously impossible for XRP, opening doors for large-scale token lockups.