Speculation about an XRP supply shock has intensified as some market participants point to declining exchange balances. Proponents argue reduced availability could limit liquidity and push prices higher.
Vet, an XRPL dUNL validator, has rejected this theory, stating exchanges hold large XRP quantities and market conditions do not support supply shock claims.
Supply shock advocates frequently highlight declining XRP reserves on exchanges like Binance. They believe reduced token availability could constrain liquidity and drive price appreciation through scarcity. Vet has disputed these suggestions with on-chain data.
Exchanges maintain billions in accessible XRP holdings
Exchanges currently hold close to 16 billion XRP accessible to traders, according to Vet. Holders who keep XRP in self-custody wallets can transfer their tokens to trading platforms within three to four seconds. This transfer speed prevents supply from remaining constrained for extended periods.
Vet addressed concerns about dried-up order books by noting that liquidity changes constantly. Order books can increase or decrease within seconds depending on market activity.
Price movements do not follow fixed patterns, with $10 million in buying sometimes lifting prices while $100 million purchases can coincide with declines.
Zach Rector, a well-known XRP community figure who supports the supply shock narrative, questioned Vet’s confidence in his figures. Rector cited Evernorth, which reportedly holds about 86 million XRP, as an example raising doubts about the accuracy of exchange balance estimates.
Vet stated his figures represent minimum amounts held on exchanges rather than complete totals. Exchanges often control more wallet addresses than those publicly identified. Actual exchange balances likely exceed what on-chain data currently displays.
XRPScan data confirms major exchange holdings
Vet highlighted Upbit as an example, noting that four XRP wallets linked to the exchange hold approximately 2 billion XRP. XRPScan data supports this position. The blockchain explorer shows Upbit controls 12 wallets holding at least 1 million XRP each, containing a combined 6.256 billion XRP.
Binance and Binance.US together control 13 wallets at that level, holding 2.5 billion XRP. Uphold maintains four wallets with at least 1 million XRP, totaling 1.679 billion XRP. These four exchanges hold 10.435 billion XRP in wallets with balances of at least 1 million tokens.
