Coinbase Drops Out of the Top 10 Exchanges Holding XRP

The XRP reserve of prominent US-based cryptocurrency exchange Coinbase has continued to dwindle, with the unexplained dump sparking controversy.

“XRP Liquidity” called the community’s attention to yet another Coinbase XRP reserve drop. Notably, the subject has been raising eyebrows among XRP enthusiasts, particularly due to the exchange’s pedigree in the sector.
Coinbase Drops Out of Top 10
Yesterday, the account shared that Coinbase has now dropped out of the top 10 exchanges with the largest XRP reserve. This marks a rapid decline, especially from a platform that was the fifth-largest XRP holder among exchanges just over two months ago.

For context, XRP Liquidity shared on June 20 that Coinbase ranked fifth in the list of exchanges holding the token, with a stash of 884.3 million XRP at the time. Interestingly, yesterday, he shared that Coinbase now holds 132.4 million, an 85% drop within a short time frame.

Currently, the top 10 rankings include Upbit (5.871 billion XRP), Binance (2.822 billion XRP), Uphold (1.739 billion XRP), Bithumb (1.655 billion XRP), and Bitbank (575 million XRP). Others include Coincheck (555.4 million XRP), eToro (472.3 million XRP), Crypto.com (378.7 million XRP), Coinone (295.18 million XRP), and the recent entrant, Kraken (185.13 million XRP).

Meanwhile, Coinbase remains in focus. An earlier report from The Crypto Basic showed that it held 199 million XRP, with “XRP Liquidity” confirming it was as close as September 1. Yesterday, that figure dropped to 132.4 million, representing a 67.07 million XRP ($200 million at the current market price) decline in reserve over seven days.

Notably, another report also spotlighted a $52.68 million XRP transfer from Coinbase yesterday. Nonetheless, on-chain analysis shows it was a mere internal XRP transfer.
Allegations of Coinbase Manipulating XRP Price Intensify
What has triggered speculation about the 85% reserve drop is the absence of an official statement from Coinbase. Some even claimed that it was intentional and a well-crafted act to suppress XRP’s bullish price action, but these are still mere allegations.

For perspective, Stern Drew called the suspicious pattern a blatant XRP price manipulation, particularly as it coincided with a period of sideways price trend for the token. The XRPL native token dropped from its high of $3.66 in July to $2.7 last week before the recent recovery push.

Furthermore, he also alleged that Coinbase’s relationship with the Ethereum Foundation was part of this suppression theory. Again, he suggested that it was a broader conspiracy on Wall Street to keep the XRP price low, allowing institutions to buy it at a lower price.

Nonetheless, none of these claims carries verified proof; hence, they remain mere allegations. However, Coinbase’s sales continue to create mixed reactions within the crypto community.