A $57.8 million XRP transfer to Coinbase initially sparked sell-off fears on July 3, 2025, before blockchain analysts revealed it was an internal redistribution by the exchange. Whale Alert detected the 25.5 million XRP transfer from an unknown wallet to Coinbase, triggering concerns of whale dumping amid XRP’s price volatility. However, XRPwallets clarified the transaction originated from Coinbase own cold wallet (#108) and was part of routine fund distribution to sub-wallets—marking the third such move in two weeks.
The internal reshuffle involved splitting XRP into consistent 3.88 million token batches across 45 cold wallets, contradicting initial bearish interpretations. While the exact purpose remains undisclosed, crypto analysts suggest it supports liquidity provisioning or institutional on-demand services rather than market manipulation.
Contextualizing the pattern:
• Coinbase executed similar transfers on June 12 ($60M) and June 15 ($58M), indicating operational consistency.
• XRP’s price held steady at $2.18 despite the activity, with trading volume dropping 34.72% concurrently.
• Blockchain trackers confirmed all transfers were exchange-managed, eliminating external whale involvement.
This incident underscores how exchange operations can mimic high-stakes market moves, though Coinbase structured wallet management points to infrastructure optimization over bearish signaling.
