Ripple’s XRP sales declined by 80% in Q4
Quick Take
- Ripple’s total sales of XRP declined by 80% in Q4
- The sharp decline is the result of a drop in direct institutional sales, as well as a pause in Ripple’s programmatic sales
- The Q4 sales figures are the lowest in the past three years, according to The Block’s research
Ripple has reported an 80% drop in sales of XRP during the fourth quarter of 2019.
The blockchain payments firm sold a total of $13.08 million in XRP in Q4, compared with $66.24 million in the previous quarter, it announced Wednesday.
The sharp decline is the result of a drop in direct institutional sales, as well as a pause in Ripple’s programmatic sales, i.e. XRP sales to cryptocurrency exchanges.
“Ripple continued the pause of programmatic sales, focusing solely on our over-the-counter (OTC) sales with a few strategic partners, who are building XRP utility and liquidity in strategic regions including EMEA [Europe, the Middle East and Africa] and Asia,” the firm said.
As a result, Ripple’s programmatic sales went down to zero in Q4, compared with $16.12 million in Q3.
Programmatic sales accounted for the majority of Ripple's sales volumes in Q2, at $144.6 million. But partway through Q3, the firm decided to pause programmatic sales altogether because of reports of inflated volumes.
“Ripple continues to evaluate its benchmarks given challenges, such as fake volume, that continue to persist in the industry,” the firm said Wednesday.
The Q4 sales figures are the lowest in the past three years, according to The Block's research. The price of XRP, on the other hand, has declined by 22% during the Q4.
Global trading volumes of XRP also declined slightly in Q4, at $17.24 billion as compared with $18.23 billion in the previous quarter.
“The average daily volume was reported at $187.34 million in Q4 versus $198.10 million in Q3, and below Q2’s reported $429.51 average daily volume,” said Ripple.
XRP, the third-largest cryptocurrency by market capitalization, is currently trading at around $0.22 apiece. Ripple clarified Wednesday that it “did not create" XRP, but was rather “gifted a portion” of the 100 billion units of XRP in 2012 when it was founded.
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