The Ripple Network (XRP-USD) is one of the oldest and most storied projects in the young crypto industry. It’s certainly a project that will be important to the market for years to come, even if it were to fall off the face of the Earth. The decision over its courtroom battle with the Securities & Exchange Commission (SEC) will set a major precedent over how crypto is dealt with on a regulatory level. In sum, the network is a monolithic piece in the history of the market. And as one of the network’s co-founders steps away from the project, an important chapter for the XRP crypto comes to a close.
Jed McCaleb founded the Ripple Network alongside Chris Larsen in 2012. Since its creation, Ripple has become one of the biggest forces in the blockchain world. It is built specifically for the purpose of sending money anywhere around the globe. Using Ripple, one can avoid the wait times, fees and other red tape associated with international money wiring. The technology threatens the banking world — so much so that Ripple Labs is the only blockchain project among the members of the ISO 20022 committee.
While it has been wildly influential in banking, the XRP crypto has also been successful as a coin. Since launching in 2013 alongside the network, XRP has accrued a market capitalization of more than $17 billion. It now stands as the sixth-largest cryptocurrency in the world. The crypto has accomplished this even while fighting its way through its SEC case, which is nearly two years old at this point.
Ripple Network Founder Finishes Eight-Year Selloff
But while the Ripple Network has been getting hotter and XRP crypto values have grown, McCaleb has been making a slow exit. In fact, he has been departing from the project since its launch, selling his XRP holdings since July 2013.
After helping to develop what is one of the earliest proof-of-stake networks in existence, McCaleb set his sights elsewhere. He exited the project in 2013 before founding the competitor Stellar (XLM-USD) network in 2014. He now serves as the Chief Architect of Stellar.
For the last eight years, McCaleb has been offloading XRP from his wallet. The process is taking so long due to the scope of McCaleb’s holdings; as a founder of the network, his wallet contained a massive 9 billion coins. Obviously, dumping all of these holdings on the market, even today, would destroy the project. Were this done back in 2013, Ripple likely wouldn’t be around today — at least, not in the shape it’s in now.
Today, McCaleb has made his last XRP sale ever, bringing to a close the eight-year-long dump. With that, McCaleb has brought 18.6% of the total XRP supply to the public market. As a final measure to close out the relationship between the two parties, McCaleb is deleting the wallet address entirely. Now, with the steady stream of new XRP flowing into the market trickling to a halt, investors believe prices may trend upward. The XRP crypto is up 4% on the news.
On the date of publication, Brenden Rearick did not have (either directly or indirectly) any positions in the securities mentioned in this article. The opinions expressed in this article are those of the writer, subject to the InvestorPlace.com Publishing Guidelines.