Ripple reports XRP holdings below 50% for the first time

Ripple Lab’s XRP (XRP $0.46) token holdings have dropped below 50% of the total circulating supply for the first time in the company’s history.

Ripple has faced criticism in the past by some that have raised questions over the firm’s significantly large ownership of XRP, arguing that it gives the company centralized control over its XRP Ledger (XRPL).

In a Q3 report published on Oct. 27, Ripple once again refuted that criticism while also pointing out that its XRP holdings continue to decline, falling below 50 billion tokens, or 50% of the total supply.

“Critics have pointed to the company’s XRP ownership as an indicator that the XRP Ledger is controlled by Ripple. This is not true,” Ripple stated, adding that:

The XRP Ledger (XRPL) uses Federated Byzantine Consensus to validate transactions, add new features, and secure the network, which means that each validator node gets one vote regardless of how much XRP they own.

The firm went on to state that it “currently operates 4 out of 130+ validator nodes on the XRPL.”

Ripple disclosed in the report that its total net sales (sales minus purchases) of XRP for Q3 was down to $310.68 million compared with $408.9 million in Q2.

“Ripple has continued to sell XRP only in connection with ODL transactions, and ODL volumes have ramped up as Ripple’s ODL [On-Demand Liquidity] business expanded globally,” the report reads.

One of Ripple’s key business offerings is its cross-border payments service ODL, and the company outlined that it continued to expand the product in Q3 via a partnership with forex firm Travelex to facilitate transactions between Brazil and Mexico.

SEC battle update

Ripple also commented on its lengthy legal dispute with the United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), after scoring a big win relating to the elusive William Hinman documents earlier this month.

The documents in question relate to a speech from former SEC division director Hinman in which he describes the regulatory status of Bitcoin (BTC $20,124) and Ether (ETH $1,499) in terms that may help Ripple’s case, and contradict the SEC’s arguments:

Since Hinman’s market moving speech, the SEC continues to deliberately create ambiguity, instead of providing clear guidance, and uses that ambiguity to bring enforcement actions to stifle crypto innovation in the United States.

“In terms of next steps, in November, the SEC and Ripple will file reply briefs, and, from there, await the Judge’s decision on the motions,” the report adds.

XRP is down 2.4% over the past 24 hours to sit at $0.46 at the time of writing but has gained 3.7% over the past week. Unlike a host of other major assets that hit new all-time highs last year, XRP’s peak was almost five years ago at $3.40 on Jan. 7, 2018.