XRP News Today: XRP Liquid Supply Only 12-15 Billion Despite 100 Billion Total

A leading XRP developer has estimated that only 12–15 billion XRP are truly liquid and available for business use, highlighting a significant disparity between the total supply of 100 billion XRP and the amount actively usable in transactions and institutional payments. This revelation underscores the potential value of XRP as a digital asset, particularly in the context of institutional payments and cross-border transactions.

Ripple currently holds around 35.9 billion XRP in escrow, releasing 1 billion each month. However, the company frequently relocks a large portion of that supply, typically sending back to escrow around 800 million XRP per month, making most of it unavailable for active use. In addition to escrow, Ripple also holds 4.9 billion XRP outside of it for strategic purposes such as acquisitions and incentives. These tokens are not considered part of the liquid supply accessible to the broader market.

Just like Bitcoin, XRP suffers from early wallet losses. An estimated 5 to 8 billion XRP may be permanently inaccessible due to lost keys or abandoned wallets. Institutional holders, including Ripple founders and major early adopters, collectively hold between 20 and 25 billion XRP. These tokens rarely move and are typically held in a long-term position, further shrinking the liquid supply.

With the recent launch of automated market makers and the gradual expansion of DeFi on the XRP Ledger, more XRP is being committed to liquidity pools and decentralized applications. Though still in its early stages, this trend introduces an additional layer of long-term lockup, further tightening the available supply. The most recent data shows that 12.48 million XRP tokens are currently locked in AMM pools.

Taking all these factors into account, Ripple’s escrow, inaccessible tokens, long-term holders, and DeFi commitments, the developer concludes that only 12 to 15 billion XRP are likely available for immediate business use. This represents just 12% to 15% of the total 100 billion supply. As use cases like on-demand liquidity, CBDC settlement, and asset tokenization increase, demand for XRP utility could begin to outpace available supply. With such a limited float, any meaningful surge in adoption or institutional use may result in a rapid repricing of the asset as markets adjust to the real liquidity constraints.

The developer's insights into the liquidity of XRP provide a more nuanced understanding of its potential and limitations, highlighting the importance of liquidity in determining the value and utility of a digital asset. The scarcity argument for XRP underscores its potential value as a digital asset, particularly in the context of institutional payments and cross-border transactions. The developer's analysis indicates that XRP's liquidity is a critical factor in its adoption and usage, as it directly impacts its ability to facilitate seamless and efficient transactions.