The post Do Coinbase Wallets Have ‘ZERO’ XRP? Here’s What’s Happening appeared first on Coinpedia Fintech News
Coinbase, one of the largest U.S.-based crypto exchanges, now reportedly holds zero XRP in its cold wallets. Public data shows that just a few months ago, in June 2025, Coinbase had nearly 970 million XRP stored offline, worth around $2.8–$2.9 billion at the time. Over the past three months, those holdings have steadily declined, leaving no XRP in Coinbase’s long-term storage as of September 24, 2025.
Where Did All the XRP Go?
The XRP did not vanish from the market. Experts said that the tokens moved to institutional players, over-the-counter (OTC) desks, and private cold wallets that are not publicly visible. This aligns with trends seen earlier in the year, where exchanges began transferring large amounts of crypto to meet institutional demand.
Outflows started in early June, with XRP moving from Coinbase cold wallets to hot wallets, then quickly to external addresses. By early September, the holdings had already dropped 90% to roughly 165 million XRP across just 16 public wallets. Mid-to-late September saw further consolidation to two wallets holding 32 million XRP.
Institutional Demand Could Be Driving the Movement
Many experts believe that institutional investors preparing for upcoming XRP ETF approvals are behind the large transfers. Historical trends with Bitcoin ETFs suggest that major asset managers purchase the underlying tokens well before a fund officially launches. Firms such as Franklin Templeton, Grayscale, Bitwise, 21Shares, and WisdomTree could be using Coinbase Prime, an institutional-grade platform, to acquire XRP without public disclosure.
The speculation is that these moves are strategic. Acquiring XRP ahead of ETF approvals ensures that these companies can meet investor demand once the product goes live.
Other Possible Explanations
Apart from institutional purchases, other potential reasons for the depletion of Coinbase’s cold wallets include:
Private Custodian Wallets: Institutional-grade custody solutions often use addresses not publicly traceable.
OTC Desk Transfers: Over-the-counter trades allow large purchases without affecting the public market.
New Coinbase Cold Wallets: The exchange could have moved funds into new cold wallets, hiding older addresses to protect user assets.
Cross-Exchange Transfers: XRP may have been sent to other exchanges or DeFi platforms to balance liquidity needs.
Ripple’s Growing Institutional Adoption
Coinbase’s XRP outflows come amid increasing institutional interest in the XRP Ledger. Ripple’s recent partnerships with BlackRock and other financial firms, along with the integration of its stablecoin RLUSD, have pushed more large-scale investors to adopt the network.