Ripple co-founder Jed McCaleb sold $ 400 million worth of XRP in 2020

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Stellar CTO and Ripple architect Jed McCaleb cashed in $ 411 million in XRP in 2020, according to an updated report from blockchain analytics account Whale Alert.

McCaleb sold 1.2 billion XRP throughout the year at an average price of $ 0.34 per coin, raising nearly half a billion dollars. The sum would represent 27% of McCaleb’s XRP reserve which is held in a settlement account with Ripple Labs, and marks a strong acceleration in its sales to date. It sold around one billion XRP in the five years between 2014 and 2019.

According to Whale Alert’s estimates, the combined value of McCaleb’s current and liquidated XRP holdings is around $ 1.2 billion, which puts him high on the rich crypto list.

McCaleb also appears to have timed its sales well, with Ripple currently facing lawsuits from the SEC and a major investor who participated in the Series C company’s $ 200 million fundraising round in 2019.

McCaleb controversially received a co-founder award of 9.5 billion XRP when he left Ripple Labs in 2014. In the same year, McCaleb signed a deal with Ripple Labs that limited the amount of XRP. that it can sell weekly in order to avoid negative pressure in the market.

Despite much criticism, McCaleb has repeatedly sought to assure investors that his sale did not affect the price of XRP. McCaleb’s agreement with Ripple Labs ends in 2023.

On January 1, 2020, McCaleb received 477.7 million XRP from his settlement account with Ripple Labs. McCaleb’s associated wallet still contains 652.1 million XRP, worth around $ 147 million at current prices.

In McCaleb’s original XRP sales report in February, Whale Alert warned of the potential risks associated with a single entity exercising such significant economic influence over a project they are no longer involved in:

“Whether or not you think the future is bright for blockchains like Ripple, the economic power and consequences of whales like Jed McCaleb cannot be ignored …”