Ripple released 1 billion XRP from escrow on September 1, 2026, through three transactions of 100 million, 400 million, and 500 million XRP.
At XRP’s price of about $1.38, the unlocked tokens were worth roughly $1.38 billion. The release reduced Ripple’s escrow holdings from about 32.28 billion XRP to 31.28 billion XRP.
The monthly unlock is part of a program introduced in December 2017, when Ripple placed 55 billion XRP into time-based escrow contracts on the XRP Ledger.
The protocol automatically releases up to 1 billion XRP on the first day of each month, making the tokens available to Ripple-controlled accounts without any additional action from the company.
Once unlocked, the tokens can be used for operational needs, institutional sales, and On-Demand Liquidity corridors.
Historically, Ripple has re-locked most of each monthly release, typically between 600 million and 800 million XRP, into new escrow contracts, extending the overall release schedule.
As a result, only a portion of the 1 billion XRP released each month typically enters circulation, with the net amount averaging about 200 million to 300 million XRP after re-locking.
Because the schedule has been public for years, the cryptocurrency market generally views the unlocks as already priced in.
Past releases have shown little evidence of triggering sustained price declines, with any volatility often difficult to separate from normal XRP price movements or broader cryptocurrency market trends.
Instead, investors tend to focus on re-lock volumes and whether significant amounts of XRP are transferred to exchanges.
XRP price analysis
Regarding the price, XRP has shown strong momentum in recent weeks aligning with the broader cryptocurrency market, rallying from around $1 in mid-August to above $1.50 and briefly nearing $1.70 before consolidating in the $1.36 to $1.38 range as the September unlocks took place.
The move was supported by improving sentiment across the cryptocurrency market and continued attention to XRP-related regulatory developments. As of press time, XRP was trading at $1.38 having retreated over 8% in the past week.
The impact of the latest unlock will largely depend on how much XRP Ripple returns to escrow. Historically, the company has re-locked most of the released tokens, limiting any meaningful increase in circulating supply.
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