Today's data
What an escrow is
An escrow is XRP locked by the XRP Ledger itself until a date. During that time nobody can move it, not even its owner. The network enforces this, not a company's promise.
Why Ripple uses it
In December 2017, Ripple locked 55 billion XRP so the market would know the most that could come out each month. It split them into blocks of 1 billion that unlock on the first day of each month.
What happens each month
- Up to 1 billion XRP unlocks.
- Ripple uses part of it.
- What it does not use is locked again in new escrows with a later date.
That is why you see a large movement at the start of each month and another going back. It is a scheduled movement, not a sale. The escrow schedule shows the next dates and figures.
How it affects the data
- XRP in escrow is not part of an account's balance, so the XRP Time Machine does not include it.
- Ripple's balance rises and falls with each unlock, so its change in who is accumulating XRP does not mean it bought.
- The XRP distribution shows how much of the total is still in escrow.
Common mistakes
XRP unlocking does not mean it reaches the market, because much of it usually gets locked again. It is not a burn either: that XRP still exists. To follow these movements live, see the guide to tracking whales.