Ripple continues to optimize its XRP token by locking 300 million tokens. Meanwhile, the price of XRP shows a decline, and the XRPL launches a new sidechain.
Locking 300 Million XRP
Ripple has locked 300 million XRP, valued at approximately $659.8 million, as part of its regular monthly rebalancing. This information was published by Whale Alert. The lock comes after the release of 500 million XRP from escrow earlier in the month. The July 1 rebalancing involved several transfers across Ripple wallets before a portion was moved back into escrow.
Price and Volume Decline of XRP
At the time of writing, XRP was trading at $2.19, reflecting a 0.8% decline from its previous level of $2.21. The drop follows a decrease in daily trade volume, which fell by 36.4% to $2.51 billion. XRP has seen a slight 0.15% gain over the last seven days, while its market capitalization stands at $129.15 billion. The combination of falling price and volume suggests weakening interest from market participants.
Launch of XRPL’s EVM-Compatible Sidechain
Meanwhile, the XRP Ledger (XRPL) has launched its Ethereum Virtual Machine (EVM)-compatible sidechain on mainnet. Developed in partnership with Ripple, Peersyst, and Axelar, the sidechain enables full Ethereum smart contract functionality on XRPL for the first time. This feature allows for the direct deployment of decentralized applications (dApps) and protocols using the XRP ecosystem, which recently briefly pushed XRP to around $2.20.
However, despite Ripple’s efforts in managing XRP supply and launching new features, the current decline in market interest raises questions about the stability of the token's price.
