XRP has been one of the most popular cryptos in the market, and also one of those with the largest market cap. However, the crypto’s price has been stunted for long, prompting some to complain about the continuous flooding of new XRP tokens into the market. Ripple has been the main target of these denunciations.
However, there have also been some opinions about Jed McCaleb. Jed is the co-founder of Ripple but now works as the CTO at Stellar. Since 2014, Jed has sold about 1 billion XRP, and some people feel that this “whale action” could be contributing to the crypto’s stagnating price.
Jed’s Deal With Ripple
While Jed was working with Ripple prior to his leaving in 2013, about 20 billion XRP was shared among the initial founders of the company. Jed wanted to sell-off his share, but a large sell-off would disrupt the market, so he and Ripple made a deal.
Ripple would remain the custodian of Jed’s XRP while he gradually sells it off via Ripple’s internal market over a 7-year period. In that sense, the deal would cease to hold in 2020.
However, there have been reports that the agreement has been updated and the deal’s duration has been extended to 2023.
Jed’s XRP Sales Vs The Market
Jed is said to have sold a billion XRP, and this is a huge amount. That’s not to say that he’s the biggest seller. There have been other large sales, especially by Ripple. Ripple releases about 1 billion XRP into the market every month, although the OTC sales don’t always clear the amount released. Whatever is left is locked back in escrow accounts.
Following up on this, McCaleb told Cointelegraph in an interview that it’s strange that so many people are focused on his recent trading of XRP, noting that others have sold much more in comparison. He said:
Speaking to Cointelegraph, Jed asserted his stance that his XRP Sales are insignificant compared to what other ‘whales’ have sold and consequently has no negative impact on the market.
“The market has known for years that I have been selling my XRP at a slow, steady rate. My investment decisions are not based on any desire to negatively impact other companies in this industry. I think the history to date shows there is no impact on the market, and I don’t see any reason why that will change.”
In that sense, according to a recent post by Whale Alert, Jed’s XRP sales don’t really affect the market negatively. In any case, the crypto market seems to be doing well currently.
