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With Ripple recently unlocking 500M XRP from escrow, crypto community members speculate that the company could be close to settling its legal dispute with the SEC.
For context, Ripple recently unlocked a staggering amount of XRP from its escrow accounts. Data from crypto tracking service Whale Alert shows that the company unlocked 500 million XRP from escrow in two different transactions yesterday.
While the first transaction released 200M XRP valued at $123.63 million, the second transaction contained 200M XRP worth $183.89 million.
The recent transaction surprised the broader community, given that the crypto payments company usually unlocks XRP from its escrow accounts on the first day of every month.
Is Ripple v. SEC Settlement on the Horizon?
Consequently, the transactions have elicited reactions across the crypto community as enthusiasts try to understand the rationale behind the play.
Most speculation revolves around the ongoing legal tussle between the United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and Ripple.
Some XRP enthusiasts speculate that Ripple might have unlocked the coins to pay for its legal fees in the ongoing SEC lawsuit. However, others believe the surprise unlock indicates a settlement in the SEC v. Ripple lawsuit is on the horizon. XRP enthusiasts with this notion assert that Ripple intends to sell the coins to settle with the regulatory agency.
#Ripple released 500M #XRP from escrow today and it’s not the 1st of the month… very atypical … 👀🤔🧐
You know what that probably means (Settlement incoming?!?) 🎉🚨
That’s approx. $300M settlement (1/6 of original settlement amount from #SEC). Masterful Negotiating! pic.twitter.com/SVlT6HjTy5
— TheJNelsonWay (@thejnelsonway) April 12, 2024
Interestingly, an X user with the username @TheJNelsonWay shared a document indicating that the SEC and Ripple are close to ending the multi-year legal battle via a settlement.
Ripple’s Latest XRP Unlock Looks Suspicious
According to the document, the SEC and Ripple legal counsels plan to hold settlement discussions ahead of a pre-trial conference scheduled for April 16, 2024.
Another X user pointed out that the transaction looked suspicious as it came a day after the SEC conducted its closed-door meeting.
As reported earlier, there was a closed-door meeting at the SEC on April 11. Top SEC officials, including commissioners and their secretaries, attended the meeting. Although the agenda of the meeting was unknown at the time, XRP enthusiasts speculated the SEC might deliberate on settling with Ripple.
Ripple Completes April Quota
Meanwhile, the 500M XRP unlocked is part of the 1 billion coins programmed to be released this month. Recall that Ripple had released only 500 million XRP from escrow on April 1.
Although the system scheduled to release 1 billion XRP on April 1, only 500 million was triggered that day. As a result, the remaining 500M XRP coins were finally released yesterday, bringing the cumulative amount of XRP unlocked in April to 1 billion.