[XRP](https://exolix.com/currencies/xrp){:target="_blank" rel="dofollow"} has remained one of the most held cryptocurrencies around the globe, amassing a strong community, partnerships with institutions, and being listed in the top digital assets by market capitalization for a long period of time. While interest in XRP has been growing all along, especially given recent regulatory developments and global adoption milestones-a number of investors have come up with questions about how many people own XRP, how holdings are distributed, and what the latest XRP Rich List shows about ownership concentration.

With on-chain data, while exact ownership numbers cannot be measured with complete certainty, it gives a clear picture of how XRP wealth is distributed and how the global holder base has changed going into 2026, as wallets cannot be equated to individuals.

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Understanding XRP Ownership in 2026
-----------------------------------

Before dissecting the XRP rich list in detail, it is important to note that the definition of ownership has to be understood first. Like other digital currencies across the globe, XRP uses a system based on wallet addresses rather than user accounts. A user can have multiple wallets, while a wallet can belong to thousands of people across different exchanges.

For that reason, ownership estimates are based on three measures:

-   The distribution of on-chain wallets - how many people own XRP in the world and how many is distributed across addresses

-   Exchange custodies: large wallet balances can be the sum of balances of many people

-   Ecosystem participation data - wallets interacting with staking, transfers, payments, etc.

These sources, when viewed collectively, provide a realistic view of the widespread nature of XRP ownership and the locations of large stores of wealth.

Currently, as of 2026, XRP remains to be among the most distributed cryptocurrencies in the world with millions of its addresses holding some amount of XRP. This range of XRP holders includes retail investors, long-term supporters, as well as institutions exploring payment use cases.

How Many People Own XRP Globally?
---------------------------------

Determining the total number of XRP holders remains impossible considering that blockchains do not contain information that could allow one to track individuals from a given digital wallet address. However, estimating the number ranges of ownership remains possible with a reasonable level of accuracy.

According to on-chain analytics as of 2026, there are millions of XRP addresses with a non-zero XRP balance. The number of XRP owners across the globe is also lower than the number of addresses due to exchanges as users of exchanges keep XRP in their accounts, and each account might have tens of thousands of customers.

**Total XRP supply: 100 billion XRP**

## Major named individual holders

It appears that while corporations carry the torch, there have been a few individuals who at some point in recent history held large sums of XRP tokens. In these cases, the accusations are being publically tagged and reported.

### Chris Larsen

Chris Larsen Chris Larsen, a co-founder and early individual behind the XRP ecosystem is often referred to as the largest individual founder. Tags in XRPSCAN and reports from Cointelegraph, Coincodex (Nov 2025) have highlighted several addresses where Larse’s holdings are stashed. Together all of these said listed wallets hold a massive amount of XRP.

### Board/executive grants (Brad Garlinghouse and others)

Allocations have typically gone to senior executives and early employees. Typically, these wallets are smaller than Ripple’s corporate holdings and Chris Larsen’s combined holdings but still comprise a material amount.

### Historical holder: Jed McCaleb

Another early developer, Jed McCaleb, held a significant portion of the XRP. Point is: with time a structured sale agreement and distribution plan diminished the on‑ledger concentration of his holdings.

McCaleb’s sales were executed according to legal arrangements and topsy-turvy PHP transfers set up to avoid disrupting the market.

### Why Exact Holder Counts Are Complicated

There are a number of things that make it difficult to measure

-   One individual may possess 10 wallets.

-   A single exchange wallet could account for 10,000 individuals.

-   Many transactions on XRP are done inside its custodial environments, away from the blockchain

-   Some of these addresses can sit idle for years, forming "dormant addresses.

Therefore, instead of providing specific data on what the exact numbers are on specific individuals, the focus is on trends related to addresses.

Despite such flaws, we may conclude that XRP remains as widely distributed as any asset globally, even compared to leading cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin and Ethereum, as well as prominent stablecoins.

XRP Rich List 2026: Understanding Wealth Distribution
-------------------------------------------------------

The XRP Rich List helps to create an understanding of how many people own XRP in different addresses. Though it does not disclose the entities controlling the different addresses, it is obvious how the XRP wealth is concentrated in different volume bands.

## Top 10 accounts by XRP balance

| \# |                 Account                   |   |              |     Balance             |                   |
|----|------------------------------------|---|--------------|------------------|-------------------|
| 1  | rB3WNZc45gxzW31zxfXdkx8HusAhoqscPn |  Ripple (11)  |           234XRP |  5,000,000,000XRP |
| 2  | r9UUEXn3cx2seufBkDa8F86usfjWM6HiYp | Ripple (10)  |           220XRP |  5,000,000,000XRP |
| 3  | rDdXiA3M4mYTQ4cFpWkVXfc2UaAXCFWeCK | Ripple (12)  |           216XRP |  5,000,000,000XRP |
| 4  | rKDvgGUsNPZxsgmoemfrgXPS2Not4co2op | Ripple (13)  |           201XRP |  5,000,000,000XRP |
| 5  | rMhkqz3DeU7GUUJKGZofusbrTwZe6bDyb1 | Ripple (28)  |   500,000,206XRP |  4,000,000,000XRP |
| 6  | r9NpyVfLfUG8hatuCCHKzosyDtKnBdsEN3 | Ripple (9)   |   500,000,204XRP |  4,000,000,000XRP |
| 7  | rN8pqRwLYuuvY7pUHurybPC8P6rLqVsu6o | Ripple (15)  |           200XRP |  3,100,000,000XRP |
| 8  | rKwJaGmB5Hz24Qs2iyCaTdUuL1WsEXUWy5 | Ripple (14)  |           201XRP |  3,000,000,000XRP |
| 9  | rPyCQm8E5j78PDbrfKF24fRC7qUAk1kDMZ | Bithumb (12) | 1,842,828,402XRP |                   |
| 10 | rs8ZPbYqgecRcDzQpJYAMhSxSi5htsjnza | Binance (5)  | 1,705,412,412XRP |                   |

### Distribution Patterns Seen in 2026

A number of observations have emerged across 2026 data:

1\. A small number of very large wallets have a lot of their funds in the form of XRP. The large wallets often comprise exchange custody accounts, institutional custody services, initial ecosystem members, and long-term holders who have been holding their XRP for a long time.

2\. Using the term 'Medium-Sized Wallets,' the group of retail investors, traders, and individuals holding the asset for payment purposes can be specified. This group of users comprises the broad contingent of the worldwide base of holders of the asset.

3\. The vast majority of the addresses have a small balance. This is a reflection of the ubiquitous nature of the XRP and the millions of holders that have a limited balance as a result of trading, sending money, and experimenting with cryptocurrency.

4\. The large exchanges in the ranking have a major impact because they consolidate user funds into a single account. The implication here is that such large amounts are not held by a single individual but are in fact held in accounts for thousands of users.

How Many People Own 1,000 XRP?
------------------------------

Many curious investors out there might wonder how many people own 1000 XRP, as this figure is considered the psychological threshold for the middle tier of holders. As previously stated, on-chain information cannot reveal the holder of each wallet, yet patterns on account distribution within the rich lists do allow one to place the "1,000 XRP tier" within the global ecosystem.

### Why 1,000 XRP Is an Important Benchmark

For many cryptocurrency communities, holding a round figure-such as 1,000 units-represents a transition from casual ownership to more intentional accumulation. One thousand coins could be viewed in the XRP ecosystem as being:

-   a mid-range holding,

-   achievable for most retail investors.

-   large enough to reflect interest but not necessarily long-term conviction.

-   that become significant when aggregated across millions of global holders.

This range helps analysts understand middle-class participation in the XRP network.

### What On-Chain Patterns Suggest

On-chain address distribution reveals that a good chunk of wallets fall in the range of hundreds to thousands of XRP. That means small and medium holders are pretty widespread, rather than extreme concentration among whales.

Several realities shape this segment:

-   A big portion of retail holders keep their XRP on centralized exchanges. Their balance is aggregated under a few big custodial wallets. Thus, it could well be the case that thousands of owners effectively have more than 1,000 XRP, but it's just not directly visible on-chain.

-   Long-term holders tend to build up over time, and the 1,000-XRP level is one place where casual holding starts to become more serious.

-   The global nature of the XRP community means mid-tier holdings appear across multiple regions, not just in North America or Europe.

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### Interpreting the Data

Based on address categories and exchange custody patterns, it may be stated that a huge number of people worldwide have at least 1,000 XRP coins, putting them in the middle section of the curve, rather than whale or Small Holder investors.

-   This tier is often associated with:

-   long-term retail investors,

-   active traders building position sizes,

-   and users who follow the developments related to the ecosystem of XRP. 

Although the actual worldwide figures can only be given anonymously, from every indicator, the ownership group of 1,000 XRP is recognized as comprising a significant segment of the entire community of XRPs.

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How many people own Ripple (XRP) in the world? XRP remains to be among the most distributed cryptocurrencies in the world with millions of its addresses holding some amount of XRP.

How many people own XRP? XRP Rich List 2026

Currently, as of 2026, XRP remains to be among the most distributed cryptocurrencies in the world with millions of its addresses holding some amount of XRP.

How Many People Own XRP? XRP Rich List 2026

Gas fees represent one of the most significant and misunderstood aspects of cryptocurrency. Regardless of whether you buy tokens, trade on a decentralized exchange, stake your coins, or create non-fungible tokens, gas fees are what you pay for performing actions on a blockchain network. 

Knowledge about the existence of gas fees on the crypto market, specifically on [Ethereum](https://exolix.com/currencies/eth){:target="_blank" rel="dofollow"}, is very important for users so that they do not end up with unnecessary expenses for transactions on a blockchain network. In this guide, we will discuss these issues in detail.

Understanding Gas Fees
----------------------

Gas fees are also referred to as "transaction fees," and these fees are used to pay the blockchain validators or "miners" that verify transactions on a blockchain network. In each and every operation performed on a blockchain, such as sending ETH, creating an NFT, executing a smart contract, or engaging with DeFi platforms, there is a computational requirement.

Gas fees also play a paramount role on the Ethereum blockchain, given that it supports a large number of decentralized applications. This is because high demand for block space may lead to an increase in fees, hence a reduced number of activities resulting in low fees. Hence, it is imperative to understand what gas fees on the Ethereum network entail.

How Are Gas Fees Calculated?
----------------------------

The gas price will depend on the calculations of computational complexity that your transaction entails, along with the load of transactions on the network at any point of time. The Ethereum network supports an adaptive fee mechanism implemented by EIP-1559. The fee mechanism has three types of fee: base fee, priority fee, and maximum fee.

Gas fees follow this formula:

**Gas Units Used × (Base Fee + Priority Fee) = Total Gas Fee**

Each operation consumes a certain amount of gas - this is called a "gas unit". Gas unit cost is based on network congestion levels. Complex operations like interacting with a smart contract require more gas units than in ETH transfer operations.

Below is a breakdown of each fee component.

### The Base Fee

The base fee is the mandatory cost needed for your transaction to get into the next block. It self-adjusts depending on congestion in the network.

-   Base fee increases when the network is in busy mode.

-   The base rate decreases when action slows.

This mechanism helps to provide predictable blockspace usage and prevents extreme fee spikes. The base fee is burned, which means that it is removed from the circulation, adding a long-term deflationary pressure to Ethereum.

### The Priority Fee

Also called "tip," the priority fee is an incentive for validators to involve your transaction sooner and is an optional payment.

-   The higher interest rate charge hastens confirmation.

-   A low priority charge will suffice. This is during a quiet network.

If you don't mind waiting, you can keep the priority fee low.

### The Max Fee

The max fee is the highest fee which the user is able to pay for each transaction. The max fee prevents users from having to pay more due to a sudden congestion state on the network.

Your wallet automatically refunds the unused price difference between the max fee and the price, so you only need to pay as much as needed at the point of the block being mined.

Why Do Gas Fees Exist?
----------------------

Answering what are gas fees in crypto is impossible without understanding its key value. Gas prices are necessary to ensure secure and efficient functioning and operation of a blockchain system. Without gas prices, there is a possibility for spam attacks and malice to occur on the blockchain system since there are no financial penalties associated with malicious transactions.

Gas fees serve several essential purposes:

### 1\. Network Security

The validators and miners put time and processing power into verifying transactions. The gas fee pays them for this and is what ensures there is network security in a decentralized system without relying on money being exchanged.

### 2\. Resource Allocation

Since the blockchain capacity is limited, the gas price system is a mechanism in the blockchain.Gas price increases with the demand for high-priority processing. This ensures that high-priority data gets the best use made of the limited capacity.

### 3\. Spam Prevention

If transactions were free, it would be possible for malicious actors to spam the network with transactions of this magnitude. Gas prices make it inefficient for malicious actors to carry out spam attacks on such a large scale, and this serves to secure the network and maintain stability.

### 4\. Incentivizing Network Growth

Well-functioning fee markets assist in encouraging validator engagement. The more validators, the more Decentralized and secure the chain is, and thus more reliable in general.

Gas costs are more than a nuisance - they are a vital component of blockchains. Gas costs regulate demand, prevent the network from being spammed, and incentivize players to protect the network. This is important for users to know because it may help them comprehend why gas costs associated with cryptocurrency are important on Ethereum.

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Gas fees are used to pay the blockchain validators or "miners" that verify transactions on a blockchain network

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Bradley Pierce

Crypto Niche Expert

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How Many People Own XRP? XRP Rich List 2026

What Are Gas Fees in Crypto?

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