Onchain data reveals that a wallet widely thought to belong to Ripple co-founder Chris Larsen has shuffled close to 60 million XRP since July 15. Despite the flurry of activity, the wallet still sits on a hefty stash—282.49 million XRP, currently valued at about $897 million.
Ripple Co-Founder’s Wallets Unleash Millions in XRP Transfers in July
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Massive XRP Transfers Link Back to Ripple Co-Founder and Wallet 5
Eight XRP wallets suspected to be tied to Ripple co-founder Chris Larsen are tagged 1 through 8 on xrpscan.com. Wallets 1 to 4 each hold slightly more than 500 million XRP, while wallet 5 contains 282.49 million, and wallet 6 stores 300.18 million.
Wallet 7 carries a tiny 21.79 XRP, and the 8th wallet holds a cool 1,000,009 XRP. The first four have never made an outbound transfer, but wallet 5 is the one that kicked off nearly 60 million XRP in movements starting July 15.
Onchain detective ZachXBT first spotlighted the large transfers on Thursday, noting that “$140M ended up at exchanges/services” since July 17. Two days earlier, Larsen’s wallet labeled 5 initiated a small test transaction—1.6 XRP to Coinbase.
That was quickly followed by four separate transfers of 2 million XRP each to the exchange. Other addresses, including one labeled “rHtLaipqqfbhg,” also received XRP and might be linked to an exchange, OTC desk, or institution.
Collectively, Larsen’s eight wallets still hold 2.58 billion XRP, worth about $8.21 billion. Wallets 5 and 6 once mirrored the half-billion mark as well, but have since seen large withdrawals.
Wallets 6 through 8 have been quiet for some time, while wallet five had earlier activity. For example, 1.5 million XRP was sent to Coinbase on June 16. In fact, June saw a sizable flow of XRP from wallet 5 to multiple destinations, including “rHtLaipqqfbhg.”
It’s no secret that Ripple’s co-founders amassed and retained vast reserves of XRP. Jed McCaleb is widely believed to have liquidated much of his early holdings. Larsen, on the other hand, was also hit by a wallet hack on Jan. 30, 2024, which drained roughly 213 million XRP.
Reports indicate the breach stemmed from the 2022 Lastpass security failure. Underneath the surface, Larsen’s recent activity lies a deeper question: are these strategic reallocations, exchange-bound liquidations, or signals of something far more calculated?
