A recent commentary from the XRP community has reignited discussions about the circulating supply of XRP, suggesting it may be considerably lower than widely perceived, which could pave the way for a dramatic price shift.
Despite facing challenges in its price performance, XRP has managed to sustain its value above $3, maintaining a market cap of approximately $180 billion. In comparison, other cryptocurrencies such as Solana (SOL) and BNB have higher individual token prices but significantly lower market capitalizations, attributed to the differences in their circulating supplies.
Current data from CoinMarketCap shows that XRP has a circulating supply of 59.61 billion tokens. This figure contrasts sharply with BNB, which has about 139.18 million tokens in circulation, and Solana with approximately 542.56 million tokens. Additionally, the data highlights that there are around 40.37 billion XRP tokens that have yet to be released into the market.
Versan Aljarrah, co-founder of Black Swan Capitalist, asserts that the true circulating supply of XRP is even lower than the figures suggest. In a post on X, he emphasized the importance of acknowledging the escrow holdings managed by Ripple and substantial balances held by institutional players. This information, he argues, would reveal a much tighter supply than is widely believed among market participants.
Ripple currently holds 35.3 billion XRP tokens in escrow across 14 wallets, according to analytics from XRPScan, which also indicates a circulating supply of around 64.662 billion tokens—higher than CoinMarketCap’s estimation. This discrepancy has fueled ongoing debates within the XRP community about the actual liquidity of the token.
Aljarrah’s commentary points to the potential for a significant demand surge for XRP driven by applications such as tokenized debt, stablecoins, and gold. He highlighted that XRP’s utility might far exceed current supply levels, potentially causing a supply shock that could dramatically drive up prices. His insights echo sentiments expressed by Ripple’s CTO David Schwartz earlier this year, indicating that the XRPL is shifting its focus toward the tokenization industry.
Furthermore, a recent report from Bitwise underscored the XRPL’s potential to become a leading platform in the tokenization market, suggesting that investing in XRP may be a strategic move for those looking to capitalize on this burgeoning sector.
As discussions around the token’s future evolve, Aljarrah maintains that if the XRPL gains a dominant position in the tokenization landscape, the prevailing circulating supply, which many currently view as ample, may not suffice for facilitating fund movements. This could trigger the sharp price increases that many in the community anticipate as demand escalates alongside a shrinking available supply.
The ongoing dialogues within the XRP community set the stage for potential volatility in both price and supply dynamics in the near future.
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