Ripple’s sales of the XRP token have dropped by 80% during the fourth quarter of last year, as them firm sold a total of $13.08 million worth of the third-largest cryptocurrency in Q4.

In comparison, Ripple sold a total of $66.24 million in the third quarter of last year. Behind the decline was a steep drop in institutional direct sales conducted over-the-counter, and a complete halt of programmatic sales.

In a recently published report, the blockchain payments firm wrote that it “continued the pause of programmatic sales” and only focused on its OTC sales with “a few strategic partners, who are building XRP utility and liquidity in strategic regions.” Ripple’s programmatic sales in Q4 were nonexistent, compared to $16.12 million worth of XRP sold in Q3.

The report reads: “In Q3 2019, Ripple further reduced XRP sales and paused programmatic sales. Ripple maintained this approach throughout the entirety of Q4.”

In the third quarter of 2019 Ripple’s XRP sales dropped by 74% as the company decided to halt programmatic sales after dealing with an uptick in “FUD” and the “spread of misinformation” regarding XRP, which included reports of inflated volumes. In Q2, Ripple sold a total of $144 million worth of the cryptocurrency.

According to CryptoCompare data, the price of the XRP token dropped over 20% during the last quarter of 2019. The token is currently trading at $0.226 and its market cap is of $22.64 billion. In the last 24-hour period, XRP dropped 3.7% amid a wider decline in the market.

XRP’s average daily trading volume, according ot Ripple, decline in the fourth quarter as well. The report reads:

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.

In its report, Ripple reaffirms it didn’t create the XRP token, but was rather “gifted a portion” in September 2012 after the company was created.

Featured image via Pixabay.