Ripple is preparing to release 1 billion XRP on August 1 as part of its monthly escrow unlock program.
The upcoming release follows Ripple’s longstanding escrow mechanism, which automatically unlocks up to 1 billion XRP each month from escrow accounts on the XRP Ledger.
Although the headline figure is significant, the market has largely treated these events as routine due to Ripple’s consistent practice of re-locking most of the released tokens.
At current levels, XRP’s circulating supply stands at approximately 65 billion tokens out of the asset’s fixed maximum supply of 100 billion XRP.
The August unlock will temporarily make 1 billion XRP available to Ripple before most is typically returned to escrow.
Through automated smart contracts, Ripple releases tokens on a fixed monthly schedule, using a portion for liquidity management and institutional partnerships while re-locking the remainder.
Historically, the company has re-escrowed the majority of unlocked tokens, resulting in a much smaller net increase in circulating supply.
In most recent cycles, only around 200 million to 400 million XRP ultimately entered the cryptocurrency market, with the remainder locked back into new escrow contracts extending years into the future.
This predictable structure has helped reduce uncertainty surrounding XRP token unlock events and has limited the market impact of previous releases.
Several monthly escrow releases throughout 2026, including those in January, May, June, and July, generated little immediate volatility in XRP’s price.
Analysts have generally attributed XRP’s performance this year more to broader cryptocurrency market trends, regulatory developments, and adoption of Ripple’s payment infrastructure than to escrow releases.
Across July, XRP has remained relatively stable, trading in tandem with the broader cryptocurrency market.
The amount of XRP remaining in escrow has gradually decreased over time and is estimated at roughly 38 billion tokens. As additional releases occur and more XRP enters circulation, the size of the escrow reserve continues to shrink.
By press time, XRP was trading at $1.14, up about 4% over the past 24 hours. On the weekly timeframe, the cryptocurrency had also gained roughly 4%.
XRP is showing renewed strength after weeks of consolidation, with the asset attempting to break above the key $1.20 resistance level.
