Usman Salis
Chris Larsen, one of Ripple's founding members, just moved $120 million worth of XRP out of his personal wallet in less than an hour. The transfer of 50 million tokens has the crypto community buzzing with questions about what this means for XRP's price. When someone this closely tied to a project starts selling big, people pay attention—and for good reason.
What the Numbers Show
On-chain analyst Maartunn caught the movement first. Looking at CryptoQuant data tracking Larsen's addresses, you can see sharp spikes in outflows throughout 2024 and 2025. These red bars on the chart line up almost perfectly with local price peaks, suggesting a pattern: when Larsen sells, the price tends to cool off shortly after. XRP is currently trading in a range between $0.40 and $0.70, but if history repeats itself, we might see pressure building on the lower end of that channel. Support sits around $0.45, with resistance near $0.68 to $0.70. If selling continues, traders will be watching that $0.45 level closely. Past cycles in 2018 and 2021 showed similar behavior—big insider sells followed by flat or slightly declining prices. It's not a guaranteed outcome, but it's happened before.
Why This Matters
Insider selling hits different than regular whale activity. When a co-founder cashes out more than $100 million in one go, it raises eyebrows. Is it just portfolio rebalancing? Maybe. But the timing and size make it hard to ignore, especially with trading volumes relatively quiet and Ripple still dealing with regulatory uncertainty. For retail investors holding XRP, this kind of move can shake confidence. It's one thing to see anonymous whales sell—it's another when it's someone who helped build the project from day one.
Nobody knows if this is the start of a bigger sell-off or just a one-time event. XRP remains a major player in the altcoin space, but continued selling from early stakeholders could put a ceiling on any rally attempts. The blockchain tells the story plainly: while everyday investors are holding on, Ripple's insiders are taking profits. Whether that's smart money getting out or just routine business, only time will tell. Either way, the next few weeks should make things clearer.
Usman Salis
