Blockchain analysis company Coin Metrics has found discrepancies in blockchain payments network Ripple’s escrow system reporting, according to a May 16 report.
Coin Metrics, which conducts analysis of various aspects of cryptocurrency tokens, investigated Ripple and discovered what it said were contradictions that required an explanation.
“Coin Metrics found several important discrepancies between what was publicly reported by Ripple and what was visible on the XRP ledger,” the report summarized.
The three aspects are the following:
- “Two quarterly markets reports under-reported the number of XRP released from escrow by a total of 200 million XRP ($84 million at current prices)
- The “escrow queue” is implemented differently than announced, leading to a faster future release of escrowed funds compared to the announced schedule
- Other party/parties, potentially associated with Ripple, have released 55 million XRP from an unknown escrow address not connected to the main Ripple escrow account”
According to Coin Metrics, Ripple did not respond to repeated requests for clarification of researchers’ concerns.
As Cointelegraph reported, the company has previously attracted criticism from commentators over the past year: in February, a separate report from trading platform BitMEX accused the company of being overly centralized.
“Compared to traditional assets and currencies, most crypto currencies’ supplies and behaviours can be audited to a much greater degree of precision,” Coin Metrics concluded.
Nonetheless, XRP has had a successful month in May, after American cryptocurrency exchange Coinbase released trading to New York residents and Germany’s second-largest stock exchange debuted an XRP and litecoin (LTC) exchange-traded note.
