The Ripple escrow system might run out of XRP over the next ten years if the current trend persists. However, there are changes that could hasten the process.
Ripple’s escrow system has always been important in determining how XRP enters the market. For context, the system releases 1 billion XRP tokens every month, but Ripple re-locks most of them. Amid this trend, the XRP community often wonders how long the escrow will last.
Ripple Escrow Release Patterns
A well-known analyst who runs the “XRP Liquidity” community-driven account on X recently discussed the current trend and presented projections on when Ripple might exhaust its escrow supply if the trend continues or if Ripple makes some minor changes.
Recall that Ripple locked away 55 billion XRP back in December 2017 to help manage supply and avoid flooding the market. Now, each month, the escrow system unlocks 1 billion XRP.
However, Ripple doesn’t always use the entire amount. Instead, it often puts a large portion back into escrow. According to XRPScan, as of July 2025, the Ripple escrow still holds 35.908 billion XRP, spread across 14 wallets.
How Long Will the Escrow Last If This Pattern Continues
The “XRP Liquidity” analyst recently highlighted this release pattern. Specifically, for the first seven months of this year, 2025, Ripple re-locked 700 million XRP in January, February, March, April, May, and July, while June saw a slightly lower re-lock of 670 million.
Meanwhile, back in 2024, Ripple consistently returned 800 million XRP each month from April to October, with one exception in November when it only re-locked 530 million. This pattern shows that the firm increased the amount of tokens it retains by 100 million XRP.
Based on this trend, the analyst outlined a few possible scenarios going forward, depending on the approach Ripple takes. For instance, if Ripple continues to use just 300 million XRP per month, the escrow could last another 10 years.
Based on current pattern/trend the remaining Escrow is as follows.
10 years at 300M XRP unescrowed every month
7.5 years if 400M XRP unescrowed starts Jan 2026
6 years if unescrowed increases by 100M XRP annually starting Jan 2026
Or possible none of the 1B is locked back in https://t.co/PL54enJmS3
— XRP_Liquidity (Larsen/Britto/Escrow/ODL/RLUSD) (@XRPwallets) July 6, 2025
However, if the company increases the amount it retains again next year and starts using 400 million XRP a month beginning in January 2026, the escrow would run out in about 7.5 years.
Meanwhile, in an approach where Ripple increases its monthly usage by 100 million XRP every year from 2026, the timeline would shorten to six years. The analyst also suggested that if Ripple stops locking any tokens back in, the entire supply could drain even faster.
Recent Anomalies in the Ripple Escrow Schedule
Notably, Ripple’s recent activity suggests it is already changing its approach. In July 2025, the company split its usual 1 billion XRP release into two parts: 500 million on July 1 and another 500 million on July 4.
Ripple returned 700 million XRP to escrow and allocated the remaining 300 million to support various parts of its business. These include On-Demand Liquidity (now Ripple Payments), exchange-traded products, and other partnerships.
Interestingly, this two-stage release isn’t a one-off change. Since March 2025, Ripple has started staggering its releases and moving away from its usual first-of-the-month schedule. For instance, in June 2025, the company unlocked the 1 billion XRP on June 4 and later returned 670 million XRP to escrow.
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