Ripple Unlocks 1 Billion XRP in Monthly Escrow Release

September Escrow Release

Ripple unlocked 1 billion XRP from its on-ledger escrow accounts on Sept. 1, executing the monthly release schedule that has governed the token's supply since 2017. The on-chain transaction alerts from Whale Alert recorded three separate movements of 500 million, 400 million and 100 million XRP leaving Ripple-controlled escrow wallets. Trackers that compute the balance directly from active escrow objects on the XRP Ledger show roughly 32.28 billion XRP still locked as of Aug. 31; after the release, that figure dropped to about 31.28 billion XRP, or approximately 31.28% of the asset's fixed 100 billion maximum supply. The escrow structure dates to 2017, when Ripple placed 55 billion XRP into on-ledger contracts allowing up to 1 billion XRP to become available at the start of each month. Crucially, an unlock does not equal a sale: Ripple has historically re-locked the unused portion of each monthly release into fresh escrow contracts, meaning the amount that actually reaches crypto exchanges typically sits well below the headline figure. For readers assessing supply dynamics, understanding XRP escrow mechanics is essential context for every monthly release cycle.

on-chain transaction alerts from Whale Alerthttps://x.com/whale_alert/status/2094576797450953037

SettleMint Deal Targets Asia Pacific

Separately, Ripple and tokenization platform SettleMint announced a strategic partnership on Sept. 1 that pairs institutional digital asset custody with tokenized asset lifecycle management. The integration connects Ripple Custody — a self-hosted infrastructure in which institutions retain control of their own private keys — with SettleMint's Digital Asset Lifecycle Platform (DALP), which governs issuance, compliance, permissioning, settlement and post-issuance servicing of tokenized products. The initial rollout targets regulated financial institutions across Asia Pacific, with possible expansion to other regions as institutional demand develops. Ripple's custody stack lists hardware security modules, multi-party computation key management, FIPS 140-2 Level 4, ISO 27001 and SOC 2 Type II among its security credentials. The agreement extends a series of custody additions: Ripple acquired wallet provider Palisade in November 2025, then layered in Securosys cloud HSM support, Figment staking and Chainalysis compliance tooling in February. No customer names, contract values or production dates were disclosed, and the companies did not state that participants must use the XRP Ledger, XRP or RLUSD — so the deal does not by itself create direct token demand. Both firms cited a Boston Consulting Group forecast that tokenized real-world assets could reach $88 trillion by 2035, versus roughly $30 billion visibly tokenized when the report was produced.

XRP Price and Derivatives Data

Market data shows XRP trading near $1.39, up roughly 1.7% over the past 24 hours at the time of writing. The asset has gained about 30.8% across the last 30 days and 14.5% over the last 90 days, though it remains under pressure on a year-to-date basis. Derivatives activity skewed toward short squeezes: more than $2.3 million in XRP futures trading positions were liquidated over the same 24-hour window, of which roughly $1.5 million came from short positions compared with about $793,000 in longs. That pattern suggests traders positioned for downside were forced out as price recovered, consistent with the monthly supply event passing without heavy selling pressure so far. The unlock also lands against a backdrop we have tracked closely: XRP recently defended $1.34 support after a 7% weekly pullback, while leveraged funds on CME doubled net short exposure to 115.7 million tokens. For investors weighing entry timing amid elevated short interest, our guide on where and how to buy XRP covers venue selection and execution basics. Readers tracking the market in real time can follow live spot and futures prices on MEXC.

Supply Overhang Meets Institutional Demand

The through-line across these developments is that XRP's supply overhang and its institutional buildout are advancing in parallel. The verifiable primary record here is the XRP Ledger itself: on-chain data calculated from active XRPL escrow objects confirms 31.28 billion XRP remains locked after the September release — a figure any holder can independently verify rather than take on faith. Our read: the recurring 1 billion XRP headline matters less than the re-escrow rate, which determines net new supply, while Ripple's custody expansion — SettleMint now included — signals a push to position XRP Ledger-adjacent infrastructure as the rails for regulated tokenization. Demand channels are widening too, with Bitwise's XRP ETF already past $500 million in assets. COINOTAG's XRP tag page tracks both threads as the month progresses.