XRP: Only 12-15% of Actual Supply Available – Will the Price Explode When Demand Rises?

A deep analysis from software engineer Vincent Van Code – a strong supporter of XRP – has just unveiled a notable reality: although the total supply of XRP is 100 billion tokens, only about 12 to 15 billion XRP are actually available for business applications such as payments, providing liquidity, and cross-border remittances. This figure corresponds to only 12-15% of the total supply, raising a big question about the actual liquidity of XRP in the market.

1. Ripple's Escrow: The Largest Locked Supply Ripple currently holds approximately 35.9 billion XRP in escrow accounts, with a plan to release 1 billion XRP each month. However, in reality, Ripple often locks up around 800 million XRP each month, making most of this supply unavailable for circulation. In addition, Ripple holds 4.9 billion XRP outside of escrow to serve strategic objectives such as acquiring companies, rewarding partners, or incentive programs, which means this amount of tokens is not actually present in the free market.
2. XRP Lost or No Longer Accessible Similar to Bitcoin, XRP is also affected by wallets that have lost access or have been forgotten from the early stages. It is estimated that around 5 to 8 billion XRP may have been permanently lost due to users forgetting their private keys or no longer having access to their wallets. In addition, large institutional investors, including the founders of Ripple and early holders, are said to be holding between 20 to 25 billion XRP in a "long-term hold" state, hardly participating in trading or liquidity activities.
3. DeFi on XRP Ledger: Liquidity Locking is Becoming More Significant The emergence of decentralized financial protocols (DeFi) and automated market makers (AMMs) on the XRP Ledger (XRPL) is ushering in a new era for XRP. Although still in its early stages, 12.48 million XRP are currently locked in liquidity pools, and this number is expected to grow significantly as the ecosystem expands. Such long-term liquidity locking reduces the amount of XRP available for immediate trading, contributing to a tightening of the actual supply.
4. Only 12 to 15 Billion XRP Are Actually "Ready" For The Market When synthesizing all the above factors – from locked escrow, lost tokens, long-term holdings to tokens locked in DeFi – Van Code concludes that only about 12 to 15 billion XRP are actually available for immediate payment purposes, providing liquidity and CBDC solutions. This creates a scenario of supply scarcity, especially if real-world applications such as on-demand liquidity (ODL), CBDC payments, and asset tokenization continue to grow robustly.
5. Bullish Trend - Bearish Pressure: Prices May React Strongly With the actual supply being much lower than imagined, any surge in demand from institutions or business users could lead to a rapid revaluation of XRP. "The price must increase to meet demand" – Van Code concluded. As the market becomes more aware of this real liquidity scarcity, XRP could experience a sudden price surge if actual demand explodes – similar to what happened with Bitcoin in previous cycles. Conclusion: XRP – The Hidden Gem Amidst the New Financial Stability Wave In light of this analysis, XRP is no longer merely a popular token – it is emerging as a strategically valuable payment infrastructure, where liquidity is not as infinite as many people mistakenly believe. With a real supply accounting for only 12-15% of the total issuance, XRP possesses one of the most important characteristics in investment: scarcity. If you are looking for a coin with high practical application, backed by strong enterprises and with a tightly controlled supply, then XRP deserves to be on your long-term strategic radar.