Ripple Leaves October’s 1 Billion XRP Unlock Untouched for 26 Days: Will Swell Week Change That?

Ripple kicked off Swell 2026 in New York on Tuesday, October 27, just a day after securing final OCC approval for its national trust bank, while the 1 billion XRP it unlocked from escrow on October 1 remains untouched in its wallets. That crucial detail is what most of this week’s coverage has overlooked.

For a cryptocurrency that has dropped 15.8% over the past month, a billion stagnant coins warrants a closer look. XRP currently trades at $1.29, marking a 0.3% increase over 24 hours on $1.35 billion in trading volume.

So who is moving XRP ahead of Swell, and who isn’t?

XRP Whales Now Control Most Supply Since 2022

Wallets holding at least 10M XRP now control 46.87B tokens. That represents roughly 68.5% of XRP’s supply, the highest share held by this group since November 2022.

The key signal is that these massive holders have kept… pic.twitter.com/YOvZB3pT08

— Santiment Intelligence (@SantimentData) October 26, 2026

Latest XRP Ripple News: What Did Ripple Announce This Week?

The company announced a bank charter and a yield product for corporate cash, and neither of them utilizes XRP directly.

• The bank: The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency granted Ripple final approval on Monday to open Ripple National Trust Bank. According to Ripple’s announcement, it will hold the reserves backing the RLUSD stablecoin and provide digital asset custody for institutional clients. It will not take customer deposits or issue loans.
• The yield product: Ripple Treasury—the corporate software developed through the $1 billion GTreasury deal—launched 24/7 Returns on the same day. It allows eligible corporations to earn a return on RLUSD even when traditional banks are closed. Ripple did not disclose a specific rate, and the press release avoids mentioning XRP entirely.
• The event: Swell runs from October 27–29 at The Shed in Hudson Yards. Ripple’s event page notes that it has integrated its Apex developer conference into Swell for the first time.

CEO Brad Garlinghouse described the charter as proof that cryptocurrency and traditional banking function better together.

Big news heading into @RippleSwell: the @USOCC has granted final approval for Ripple National Trust Bank.

This gives Ripple a federally supervised platform to support $RLUSD and provide digital asset custody to enterprises.

We’ve always said crypto and banks work better…

— Brad Garlinghouse (@bgarlinghouse) October 26, 2026

DISCOVER: XRP Takes Over NYC Subways Ahead of Ripple Swell 2026 as Price Faces Key Tests

What Does XRP On-Chain Data Show Before Swell?

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While major holders are accumulating, selling pressure persists, starting with Ripple itself.

On October 1, four escrow contracts released 1 billion XRP into two Ripple wallets identified by XRPScan as “Ripple 10” and “Ripple 11,” receiving 500 million tokens each. An audit of the XRP Ledger on October 27 indicates that both wallets still hold those exact 500 million XRP balances and have not executed a single outgoing transaction since.

Each wallet has an additional 500 million XRP escrow maturing on Sunday, November 1. Consequently, by the weekend, approximately 2 billion unlocked XRP could reside within just two Ripple wallets, marking the month’s biggest supply question.

Meanwhile, whales are accumulating tokens. Data from Santiment indicates that wallets holding at least 10 million XRP now account for 46.87 billion tokens—roughly 68.5% of the total supply—representing the highest concentration held by this cohort since November 2022. This expansion is concentrated at the very top, though market analyst Ali Martinez noted that wallets holding between 10 million and 100 million XRP decreased from 351 to 339 between October 19 and 25.

Exchanges paint a different picture. CryptoQuant registered 6.05 billion XRP transferred to exchanges over the 30-day period leading to October 19, marking the highest volume since March. Simultaneously, the 90-day average for whale withdrawals declined to $49.7 million, reaching its lowest point since October 2021. U.S. spot XRP ETFs suffered $3.61 million in outflows on Monday, driven entirely by Bitwise’s fund, which leaves its asset total at $1.47 billion.

XRP Price Analysis: Can XRP Ripple Get Back Above Its EMAs?

Not yet. XRP closed its previous session at $1.3092 on Binance and currently trades near $1.2990, sitting below its 50-day exponential moving average (EMA)—a moving average that assigns greater weight to recent prices—at $1.3601, as well as its 200-day EMA at $1.3709.

• The ceiling: $1.3601 to $1.3709. The two EMAs sit roughly one cent apart, forming a dense overhead resistance band.
• The pivot level: $1.3992. This marks the October 21 high, where the most recent upward price surge stalled.
• The support floor: $1.2546. This represents Saturday’s low, remaining near the $1.2562 level that successfully held on October 18.

An untouched escrow unlock does not guarantee that Ripple will refrain from selling, as the company can still relock the coins or transfer them following the conference. Consequently, the crucial wallets to monitor this week are not located on an exchange. Should Ripple 10 or Ripple 11 begin transferring XRP out after Swell concludes, those actions will reveal more about this month’s supply dynamics than any conference keynote.

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