An interesting shift is taking place beneath the surface of XRP’s on-chain footprint, this time tied to one of the biggest US crypto exchanges. According to XRPWallets, Coinbase, which had an estimated 970 million XRP in 52 cold wallets, no longer has the same stockpile.
As of this week, only 35 of these addresses are funded, indicating an astonishing 40% drop in just a few weeks.
In June, 10 Coinbase wallets each contained 26.8 million XRP, while 42 each had 16.8 million.
35 cold wallets each have 16.8m XRP remaining
– XRP_LIQUITITY (LARSEN/BRITTO/ESCROW/ODL/RLUSD) (@XRPWALLETS) July 29, 2025
Fast forward to July 29th. Most of these wallets are either only a few XRPs left or completely empty. Notable transactions include the transfer of XRP 16.8 million from a wallet labeled “Cold Wallet 400” to a Coinbase hot wallet.
what happened?
One theory is that XRP is collected in new subwillets. This is often related to exchanges such as bit stamps and custodians such as Bitgo. Both of these are connected to Ripple’s on-demand liquidity infrastructure.
Another possibility is that this is merely a preparatory task. As XRP market conditions change, it is about reorganizing storage in anticipation of heavier usage or price volatility.
The withdrawal does not suggest panic, but it appears to have been calculated. When a minority lands on a ripple-related channel, this can be more operational setup than an exit strategy.
However, one thing is clear. Coinbase’s role in retaining large XRP reserves is rapidly shrinking, just as there is growing interest in the wider use of XRP.
