Ripple co-founder Chris Larsen linked to $7.18B in dormant XRP wallets

Prominent blockchain investigator ZachXBT has uncovered $7.18 billion worth of XRP tokens held in dormant wallets activated by Ripple co-founder Chris Larsen.

According to a report published on Telegram, these addresses still control approximately 2.7 billion XRP. The transaction analysis shows that over $109 million worth of the tokens were moved to exchanges in January 2025.

The revelation comes following President Trump’s announcement of a U.S. strategic crypto reserve that will include XRP alongside Bitcoin, Ethereum, Solana, and Cardano.

Ripple co-founder’s dormant wallets come to life after years of inactivity

The six XRP wallets ZachXBT has identified together control 2.7 billion tokens worth about $7.18 billion based on current prices. The addresses were initially activated by a Larsen-addressed wallet, although they have mostly been in limbo for between six and seven years.

Based on the blockchain sleuth’s report, these wallets that were once inactive suddenly started transferring funds in January 2025, with over $109 million of XRP moved to different cryptocurrency exchanges.

In his report, ZachXBT provided context to these findings. He mentioned that several of these addresses have been inactive for 6-7 years. The sleuth mentioned the possibility that he could have lost access or sent money to other individuals in February 2013.

ZachXBT also mentioned the caveat that Larsen might not retain all the discovered wallets under his control anymore.

Trump’s U.S. crypto reserve plan sends XRP price soaring

The disclosure of these idle XRP balances comes after Trump announced that XRP will be included in a new U.S. crypto reserve. Trump tweeted on March 2 that his administration will create a government-backed crypto reserve. The president mentioned five cryptocurrencies: Bitcoin, Ethereum, Ripple, Solana, and Cardano.

The market was fast to respond to this news. The announcement pushed the price of XRP by 18%. The price moved from a 24-hour low of $2.23 to a high of $2.96 before finally closing at approximately $2.66.

For XRP, inclusion in the reserve will change its future after years of legal struggle with the SEC under prior administrations. Market players see the token’s inclusion and others, such as Bitcoin and Ethereum as a vote of confidence.

As some of you may have noticed, I moved an $XRP wallet to NYDIG. I’ve known the founders for a while, and am impressed by their security and top notch institutional standards — this is truly custody 2.0. Check them out at https://t.co/lbr8bG1kEe

— Chris Larsen (@chrislarsensf) September 22, 2020

This is not the first that people have been noticing the actions of Chris Larsen and XRP. Larsen moved about 500 million XRP (worth about $115 million at the time) to a wallet, whose owner hasn’t been mentioned in September 2020.

Cryptopolitan Academy: Coming Soon - A New Way to Earn Passive Income with DeFi in 2025. Learn More