Coinbase’s XRP reserves have experienced a dramatic decline of nearly 90% over the past three months, according to on-chain data gathered by XRPWallet from XRPscan. At the beginning of summer, the major U.S. cryptocurrency exchange held around 970 million XRP across 52 cold wallets, establishing itself as one of the leading custodians of XRP in the market. Notably, ten of these wallets contained approximately 26.8 million tokens each, while the other 42 wallets collectively held the remaining 16.8 million.
However, a striking transformation has occurred by mid-September. The number of active wallets has dwindled to just six, each now holding roughly 16.5 million XRP as of September 13. This significant reduction has resulted in total holdings of just under 99 million XRP— a level not observed in several years.
The decline in XRP holdings on Coinbase reflects a substantial outflow of assets from its cold storage. Specifically, there’s been an 89.79% decrease from June’s figures, predominantly due to continuous transfers during the summer months. A notable transfer occurred over the weekend when 16.5 million XRP, valued at approximately $51.4 million, was moved back into a Coinbase-controlled wallet. This transaction has sparked speculation among traders regarding potential institutional interest in XRP, particularly from large asset managers who may be acquiring the asset through private transactions.
One key challenge remains: while on-chain data emphasizes the reduction in Coinbase’s XRP holdings, it does not provide insights into the final destination of these assets. It remains uncertain whether the withdrawn XRP is being moved to other custody providers, stored in private vaults, or redirected to new trading avenues amidst increasing interest around the last XRP ETF and rumors involving major players like BlackRock.
Despite the uncertainty surrounding Coinbase’s diminishing role in XRP custody, the token has maintained its status as the world’s third-largest cryptocurrency, following Bitcoin and Ethereum, with a market capitalization of around $181 billion as of this report. This abrupt decline in Coinbase’s visible XRP holdings has prompted broader inquiries about the management of institutional demand, the ultimate flow of XRP, and whether this redistribution signifies a fundamental shift in trading and storage practices for the asset.
