Ripple Chairman Chris Larsen Moves 50M XRP to New Address for the First Time in Over a Decade
Ripple Chairman Chris Larsen has made a significant move by transferring 50 million XRP from one of his wallets to a new, unidentified address. What makes this transaction even more remarkable is that it is the first notable outbound transfer from the wallet since its creation 11 years ago. Larsen’s wallet was established in the early days of the XRPL and initially funded with a massive 500 million XRP in February 2013, which represented a fraction of his XRP holdings.
Interestingly, Larsen’s wallet had remained dormant for all these years, with the exception of a minor transfer of 1 XRP in December 2017. However, the recent transaction caught the attention of whale tracking resource Whale Alert, which reported the significant outflow from the address just last night.
The on-chain data confirms that the transfer took place on September 16th, at 23:17 UTC, involving 50 million XRP valued at $29.12 million during that time. The assets were moved to an unknown address, referred to as ‘rao…gzS’, specifically created for this transfer.
Given the history of this wallet and the sudden movement of funds, there was speculation about a possible hack. However, there is little concern as The Crypto Basic confirmed that this is unlikely to be the case. In February, Larsen’s other wallets were indeed compromised, resulting in the theft of millions in XRP. But this latest transfer seems to have been authorized by Larsen himself. The sending wallet was responsible for activating the recipient address prior to the transfer, suggesting it was a planned internal movement of funds.
The purpose of this substantial transaction remains a topic of speculation. Some have suggested that the funds could be used to support the Kamala Harris campaign, as Larsen publicly announced his support for her presidential ambition. However, this interpretation remains speculative. Nevertheless, it is a significant move for Larsen, both in terms of the amount of XRP transferred and the long period of inactivity for this particular wallet.