Coinbase's XRP reserves have been dropping for months, and new on-chain data show the decline has hit 57.4% since early June. The exchange used to hold almost a billion XRP across 52 cold wallets, but now it is down to about half that, with more big transfers this week.
Right now, 10 wallets still hold about 26.8 million XRP each, and another 42 wallets hold about 16.8 million XRP. One of the latest moves saw 16.69 million XRP - worth about $54.83 million - moved from Coinbase Cold Wallet 155 to Coinbase Cold Wallet 10. It was an internal transfer.
The destination of these coins is unclear. Analysts believe the transfers are feeding new subwallets tied to Bitstamp, BitGo and Ripple's On-Demand Liquidity network. Others think Coinbase is reorganizing reserves to position itself for usage or price changes.
XRP at risk?
There is no sign of disorder or panic selling in the way these transfers are being handled. The amounts and timing suggest that there was a lot of planning involved, with an emphasis on where assets are located so they can be accessed efficiently.
Coinbase is not holding as much XRP as it used to, and that is because more and more people are interested in using the token for payments and cross-border transactions.
If this trend keeps up, Coinbase might not have as much control over the big XRP flows, and more of the asset might be moving through other exchanges and custodial channels.
Dan Burgin
Vladislav Sopov
U.Today Editorial Team