Ripple's XRP sales increased nearly 100% in Q1 2021 despite SEC lawsuit

Ripple • May 7, 2021, 7:10AM EDT

Ripple has reported a nearly 100% increase in XRP sales for the first quarter of 2021 despite its ongoing legal battle with the U.S. Securities Exchange Commission (SEC).

Ripple's XRP sales went up to $150 million in Q1 2021 compared to $76 million in Q4 2020, an increase of 97%. Ripple said its On-Demand Liquidity (ODL) service contributed to the jump. ODL helps Ripple clients to settle cross-border payments via XRP without pre-funding.

Ripple said it saw "deeper engagement from key ODL customers" in the first quarter. For over a year, Ripple has not sold XRP programmatically, i.e., to cryptocurrency exchanges.

The surge in XRP sales comes despite Ripple's ongoing legal fight with the SEC. Last December, the agency sued Ripple and two of its executives — CEO Brad Garlinghouse and Chairman Chris Larsen — alleging that they illegally raised over $1.3 billion selling XRP, an unregistered security.

Ripple is defending itself and says the lawsuit has caused "havoc" for U.S. XRP holders, developers, and small businesses that use and rely on XRP and the XRP Ledger.

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