Ripple Secures 300 Million XRP As Price Dips to $2.19
In a series of strategic moves, digital asset company Ripple is making waves in the crypto market. The company's recent actions of locking large amounts of XRP tokens and the launch of an Ethereum Virtual Machine (EVM)-compatible sidechain on the XRP Ledger are having a combined impact on both the XRP market and its smart contract ecosystem.
### Impact on XRP Market
On July 2, 2025, Ripple locked approximately 400 million XRP (around $869 million) in a new escrow wallet while unlocking 500 million XRP earlier as part of its monthly token release cycle. This locking and unlocking pattern is part of Ripple’s strategic approach to stabilize the circulating supply and limit price volatility amid fluctuating demand and market conditions. A separate report notes the locking of 300 million XRP (valued about $659.8 million) amid a slight price dip and drop in trading volume, suggesting Ripple is managing liquidity cautiously to maintain market stability during periods of softer market enthusiasm.
The circulating supply is influenced by Ripple’s ongoing practice of releasing up to 1 billion XRP per month from escrow while simultaneously relocking large amounts to avoid oversupply, helping to maintain price stability and investor confidence. Despite daily trading volume declining by over 36% and a modest price dip (XRP trading near $2.19, down 0.8%), XRP maintained a slight weekly gain of 0.15% and continues to show robust market capitalization in a cautious macroeconomic environment.
### Impact on Smart Contract Functionality
Ripple recently launched an EVM-compatible sidechain on the XRP Ledger, which is a significant development for the XRP ecosystem. This sidechain allows developers to deploy Ethereum-compatible smart contracts while leveraging XRP’s well-known advantages such as high scalability, fast transaction speeds, and low transaction costs.
The EVM compatibility potentially boosts DeFi capabilities on XRP by enabling developers to port existing Ethereum DApps or build new decentralized applications directly on the XRP Ledger sidechain. This expands the scope of use cases for XRP far beyond payments, promoting innovation in decentralized finance and smart contracts. The sidechain's launch is expected to attract new developer activity and investments into the XRP ecosystem, potentially increasing demand and utility for XRP tokens as gas fees and transaction usage on the sidechain grow.
In summary, Ripple’s strategic escrow management combined with the new EVM-compatible sidechain strengthens XRP's market stability while significantly enhancing its smart contract and DeFi potential, positioning XRP for broader adoption in 2025 and beyond. These developments further solidify Ripple's commitment to fostering a thriving ecosystem for its digital asset, XRP.
- The strategic escrow management by Ripple, as demonstrated by the locking of large amounts of XRP tokens, is indicative of their focus on stabilizing the XRP market within the broader context of finance and technology.
- In conjunction with the launch of an EVM-compatible sidechain on the XRP Ledger, Ripple is seeking to leverage technology to expand the use cases for XRP tokens beyond payments, particularly in the realm of decentralized finance (DeFi) and smart contracts, thereby opening new avenues for growth and innovation.
