$XRP Crypto investor Stern Drew has raised serious concerns regarding Coinbase’s recent handling of its XRP reserves.

In a detailed analysis shared on social media, Drew pointed to data from XRPScan showing that Coinbase reduced its XRP holdings from 780 million to 199 million within weeks.

This represents a 69% decrease, effectively removing the exchange from the position of the fifth-largest holder and pushing it to the lower end of the top ten. Drew emphasized that such a significant reduction could not be regarded as standard selling behavior, suggesting that it appeared to be deliberate manipulation.

✨Outflows and Trading Patterns

According to Drew, Coinbase’s selloffs accounted for approximately 581 million XRP, valued at nearly $300 million at current market prices. He stated that 40% of these outflows were routed through over-the-counter desks connected to New York institutions, while the timing of the transactions coincided with nearly every notable dip in XRP’s price. Drew further noted that 72 percent of the selling activity occurred during low-liquidity hours, specifically between 2 a.m. and 5 a.m. UTC.

He added that Coinbase allegedly fragmented the flows across multiple exchange wallets in a way that disguised the full scale of the movements. These actions, he claimed, suppressed potential rallies, particularly at points where XRP was approaching key resistance levels around $1.20.

✨Alleged Motivations Behind the Strategy

Drew proposed three possible motivations behind Coinbase’s actions. The first was external pressure from groups tied to what he referred to as “ETHGate,” citing Coinbase’s links with ConsenSys and the Ethereum Foundation.

The second, he argued, was Wall Street positioning, where institutional players could benefit from driving retail investors out before accumulating XRP at lower prices.

The third potential motivation highlighted by Drew was the possibility of using XRP price pressure as leverage in U.S. policy and regulatory negotiations, particularly with Ripple remaining central to ongoing discussions around digital assets.

✨Data Correlations and Institutional Flows

To support his claims, Drew referenced his team’s modeled “XRP Suppression Index,” which measured the relationship between Coinbase’s selloffs and XRP price caps. He stated that the index showed a 0.87 correlation, a level he described as highly significant, while no similar activity was observed with other exchanges.

He also highlighted that part of the offloaded XRP reportedly ended up with wallets linked to BlackRock custodianship services. Another portion was moved to Hong Kong-based OTC desks hours before Ripple’s announcement regarding its Asia corridor. Drew argued this pattern suggested insider awareness that retail investors did not possess.

✨Wider Market Implications

In his analysis, Drew suggested that if Coinbase is indeed intentionally suppressing XRP, the implications extend beyond individual traders. He outlined that such actions could serve to protect banks tied to SWIFT from liquidity shocks, preserve Ethereum’s market position against XRP’s growing institutional use, and slow what he described as XRP’s “multiplier effect” during key market events.

Drew concluded his thread by warning that Coinbase’s reduction of its XRP reserves should be interpreted as more than routine exchange management.

In his view, the scale and timing indicate that XRP poses a structural challenge to established systems. He added that while such suppression can influence price movements in the short term, it cannot be maintained indefinitely, suggesting that XRP could experience significant gains once these pressures subside.

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