A cryptocurrency whale has moved a whopping $12 billion worth of XRP in a transaction that cost next to nothing to process thanks to the network’s low fees. According to data from the XRP Ledger, a total of $12.3 billion worth of XRP were moved in the transaction that cost 0.000012 XRP, or $$0.0000157 to process.
It’s unclear who sent the transaction and who received it – if it was even a different entity – but the transaction highlights a key benefit of top cryptocurrencies: the low transaction fees that are possible even for extremely large transactions.
Cryptocurrency whales, as Benzinga reports, own a large share of XRP’s circulating supply, which means they can single-handedly move its price if they decide to sell their holdings. Similarly, whales are able to move up the price of XRP if they decide to keep on accumulating.
Over the last 24-hour period, the price of XRP is up over 3%, which means that the whale that moved its massive $12 billion stash did not move the funds to sell them on a trading platform. According to available market data, XRP is up over 400% year-to-date.
Prominent cryptocurrency analyst Credible Crypto has earlier this month reaffirmed his prediction for XRP, revealing he believes the cryptocurrency is due for a massive breakout in the near future based on its price chart.
The cryptocurrency’s price was last year affected by a lawsuit filed from the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) against Ripple and two of its executives alleging they “raised over $1.3 billion through an unregistered, ongoing digital asset securities offering.”
Most cryptocurrency exchanges delist the token shortly after the lawsuit was announced, affecting its liquidity. Some exchanges, however, sided with Ripple on the lawsuit, arguing that the SEC’s move hurt XRP investors.
Crypto exchange Uphold pointed out that the SEC’s goal is to protect consumers, and believes it’s hard to see “how a judgment rendering XRP essentially worthless and inflicting billions of dollars of losses on retail investors” would square with that goal.
Ripple itself has argued the lawsuit “already affected countless innocent XRP retail holders with no connection to Ripple.” It added it “muddied the waters for exchanges, market makers, and traders.” The firm’s CEO Brad Garlinghouse has said the fintech firm is highly likely to go public after it settles its lawsuit with the regulator.
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The views and opinions expressed by the author, or any people mentioned in this article, are for informational purposes only, and they do not constitute financial, investment, or other advice. Investing in or trading cryptoassets comes with a risk of financial loss.
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