Coinbase has recently experienced a significant decline in its XRP reserves, which raises numerous questions about the future trajectory of these tokens. On-chain data reveals a staggering decrease of more than 90% in the amounts held in the exchange’s cold wallets. Previously considered one of the top holders of XRP, Coinbase’s cold wallet reserves have plummeted from approximately 780.13 million XRP to a mere 199.47 million.
This drastic reduction has not gone unnoticed, particularly among the XRP community, which is closely monitoring institutional movements in the space. Speculation is swirling about heavyweight firms like BlackRock discreetly increasing their stakes in XRP.
As per data tracked by the @XRPwallets account on social media platform X, Coinbase’s XRP holdings have dwindled significantly in just a few months. Currently, the exchange maintains only six cold wallets, each containing about 16.5 million XRP, aggregating to an estimated total of around 99 million XRP. This drastic cut from a peak of nearly 970 million XRP, held in 52 wallets just a few months ago, suggests a systematic offloading of assets.
Industry observers believe these XRP outflows from Coinbase could be attributed to a growing accumulation of XRP in institutional wallets, likely in anticipation of a Spot XRP Exchange-Traded Fund (ETF) launch in the United States. Additonally, reports have indicated possible indirect involvement of BlackRock with XRP via Coinbase’s custodial services.
The magnitude of these XRP reserve actions has led to a flurry of reactions within the crypto community. While some speculate that these sell-offs may be a ploy to depress XRP’s market price, this notion has been disputed by pro-XRP figures such as attorney Bill Morgan, who dismissed the claims of market manipulation.
Despite the absence of official confirmation, many are attributing the large-scale XRP exits to the potential future approval of an XRP ETF, with predictions of a 94% likelihood according to Polymarket and a similar estimation from Bloomberg analysts. This buildup of XRP in institutional hands is likely to increase buying pressure even before such an ETF product hits the market.
As of now, XRP is trading at $3, reflecting a decrease of 2.9% in the past 24 hours. The cryptocurrency landscape continues to evolve, and stakeholders remain watchful as these developments unfold.
