Ripple Labs (XRP) emerged as a major player in the financial technology business in 2012, offering financial institutions the possibility of cheaper and faster cross-border monetary transfers. The company was able to achieve this goal by creating the RippleNet network, which enables fast settlement and clearing of XRP coin transactions.
Recently, the number of XRP accounts has hit a new all-time high, according to data from XRPL Services, rising above the 4.5 million mark to 4,506,842. In addition to introducing new people into the ecosystem and boosting activity, the rise in the number of XRP accounts is also causing a minor increase in the number of XRPs stored in these accounts and a decrease in the number of XRPs blocked in Ripple escrow accounts. Many people are still optimistic about XRP despite its bearish performance over the years due to the SEC case and the crypto winter. The total number of coins in circulation is now at 50.26 billion, out of a fixed supply of 100 billion. In this article, we’ll go over some of the people/companies who hold the largest number of XRP.
Read: Crypto Whales: Everything You Need to Know
Top XRP Holders by Percentage
1. Upbit
Upbit was established in 2017 and is based in South Korea. According to a report by Coincodex, over four billion XRP coins are held at a single address belonging to Upbit, making it the wallet with the largest total amount of XRP. Upbit holds 30.2% of the circulating supply.
2. Ripple
The United States-based technology firm Ripple Labs Inc. developed the Ripple real-time gross settlement system, currency exchange, and remittance network. The first Ripple address holds 14.4% of the total supply, while the second holds 13.1%.
3. Binance
Binance stands alone as the largest cryptocurrency exchange in the world. The company began operations in 2017 and is based out of the Cayman Islands. In terms of total supply, Binance holds 10.9%.
4. Bitstamp
The Bitstamp exchange is located in Luxembourg. Bitstamp controls 7.0% of the coins in circulation.
5. Kraken
Kraken was established in 2011 as a bitcoin trading platform and bank in the United States. Kraken holds d 5.7% of the XRP in circulation.
6. Coincheck
Coincheck was founded in 2014 and is headquartered in Tokyo. It is a bitcoin wallet and exchange service popular in Japan. It holds 4.9 percent of the circulating supply.
7. Poloniex
Poloniex is a bitcoin (BTC) exchange with more than a hundred different BTC markets. Poloniex holds 4.9% of the circulating supply.
8. Bithumb
Bithumb is a cryptocurrency trading platform based in South Korea. Bithumb Korea launched in 2014. It holds 4.4% of the circulating supply.
Takeaways
As seen above, the majority of XRP whales are exchanges and crypto companies holding billions of XRP in many addresses. The South Korean exchange Upbit holds the most XRP in a single wallet, with almost 4 billion XRP at a single address. Ripple owns the second and third-largest addresses.
