Ripple is set to unlock 1 billion XRP from escrow around July 1, releasing tokens worth more than $1 billion at current market prices.
The scheduled release is part of Ripple’s escrow program established in 2017 to improve transparency around XRP distribution. Under the mechanism, 1 billion XRP is automatically unlocked each month from escrow accounts on the XRP Ledger.
With XRP trading just above $1.10, the upcoming Ripple escrow release carries a notional value exceeding $1 billion.
However, historical data suggests that only a fraction of the unlocked tokens is likely to enter circulation.
Ripple XRP utilization
Following each monthly release, Ripple typically redistributes the newly unlocked XRP through a series of on-chain transactions before determining how much will be allocated to operations, liquidity management, and institutional partnerships.
The company has consistently relocked a significant portion of the released tokens into new escrow contracts.
As a result, the increase in XRP circulating supply has generally been much smaller than the headline figure. Previous releases have seen between 200 million and 400 million XRP remain in circulation, while the majority is returned to escrow for future releases.
This practice has extended Ripple’s original escrow timeline well beyond its initial schedule, with approximately 38 billion XRP still locked in escrow as of mid-June 2026.
The upcoming XRP token unlock is unlikely to surprise the market. Because the releases occur on a predictable schedule, investors have had ample time to price in the event.
Historically, Ripple’s monthly escrow releases have generated limited volatility compared with large one-time token unlocks seen elsewhere in the cryptocurrency market.
Instead, XRP price action has tended to be driven more by broader market sentiment, regulatory developments, and institutional adoption trends.
XRP price analysis
By press time, XRP was trading at $1.14, down 0.7% over the past 24 hours and nearly 4% lower for the week.
From a technical perspective, XRP remains under pressure, trading below both its 50-day simple moving average (SMA) of $1.30 and 200-day SMA of $1.55. This indicates that the asset remains in a bearish trend across both medium- and long-term timeframes.
Meanwhile, XRP’s 14-day relative strength index (RSI) stood at 41.65, signaling neutral momentum but remaining below the key 50 level, suggesting buying pressure has yet to fully return.
Overall, the indicators point to continued weakness, although XRP is not yet in oversold territory.
