Ripple Moves Out Of Character With Unscheduled 400 Million XRP Unlock, What’s Going On?

Ripple has sparked the curiosity of members of the XRP community following a transaction involving its escrowed XRP tokens. Specifically, the timing of the transaction and the memo contained in it have caused these community members to ask questions about what could be happening.

400 Million XRP Unlocked From Ripple’s Escrow

The on-chain analytics platform Whale Alert brought the transaction to the community’s attention when it reported that 400 million XRP had been unlocked from the escrow account. While it is not unusual for the crypto firm to carry out such transactions, the timing is surprising since Ripple unlocks these tokens at the beginning of every month. 

Interestingly, a particular X user (Off Escrower) suggested that Ripple didn’t initiate the transaction themselves as he claimed responsibility for it. He also hinted that the released funds were part of the token unlocks for February, which Ripple didn’t bother releasing at the start of the month. 

Off Escrower’s claim that he released the tokens was more surprising since many thought the escrowed funds were automatically unlocked (through a smart contract) at the beginning of every month. Off Escrower clarified that a smart contract isn’t responsible for the unlocks and that someone had to execute the transaction whenever the time came to release the funds. 

In a subsequent X post, he suggested that anyone could initiate the transaction. “Execution of an escrow that has fulfilled its condition is decentralized away from all parties so that any party can execute the escrow.” Off Escrower claimed. 

Bitcoinist had previously reported how anyone can initiate an EscrowCancel or EscrowFinish transaction when the necessary conditions are met. Therefore, there is the possibility that Off Ecrower’s claims are true and that Ripple didn’t initiate the transaction. 

A Memo Included In The Transaction

On-chain data also showed a memo which was included in the transaction. The memo read, “February escrow was not executed? Hmm. !!TRWBT!! Welcome back, Hodor!! John Deaton!!” Off Escrower claimed to be responsible for this memo, adding that anyone who releases the escrowed funds can include a memo in the transaction. 

It is not unusual for a memo to be included in these escrow transactions. It was very common early when Ripple had just implemented the escrow system. Meanwhile, the mention of John Deaton in the memo is believed to be alluding to the lawyer’s recent decision to run for Congress. 

Deaton, well-known in the crypto community, will run against outspoken crypto critic Senator Elizabeth Warren for the Massachusetts Senate seat. Deaton is also known to be a long-term critic of Warren and once described her as the “single biggest threat to Crypto in the United States.