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XRP The significant increase in the number of XRPs held by Coinbase was due to a wallet ID update rather than a new purchase.
The XRP positions reported by Coinbase showed a huge change, which at first gave people the impression that the exchange received billions of XRPs in an hour. However, this dramatic increase does not represent new purchases or transfers, but stems from updates to wallet identifiers that change the way Coinbase's existing XRP positions are recorded.
BSCN reported on X (formerly Twitter) that according to data from XRP Rich List on September 8, Coinbase's XRP balance appears to have jumped 4,870% to more than 5.5 billion pieces. The increase immediately sparked questions in the market: Did Coinbase suddenly acquire billions of dollars worth of XRP? But subsequent clarification from XRPScan showed that this was not the case. Instead of corresponding transfers of billions of XRPs, XRPScan identified 146 Coinbase wallets that were not previously attributed and added these addresses to the exchange's reported balances.
This update allows XRP positions originally related to Coinbase to be more fully reflected in its wealth ranking.
Coinbase's XRP surge is not a new purchase.
According to XRP Rich List reported on September 8, Coinbase's XRP native balance appears to have soared by 4,870% to more than 5.5 billion in one hour. This huge increase initially gave the impression that exchanges were suddenly receiving billions of XRPs.
XRPScan confirms that 146 Coinbase wallets have been identified
XRPScan's clarification is crucial to understanding the growth of this report. The blockchain data platform identified 146 wallets that had not been previously marked with Coinbase addresses. Once these wallets are labeled Coinbase, their existing XRP balances are included in Coinbase's reported positions.
As a result, the exchange's balance on the XRP Wealth List has risen sharply, but this does not mean that Coinbase has received a new 5.5 billion XRP transfer. Currently, Coinbase ranks third on the XRP Wealth List, with approximately 5.68 billion XRPs corresponding to its recognized wallets. This figure reflects the total amount of XRP distributed among newly identified addresses, rather than a single new holdings.
This incident also highlights the importance of distinguishing between changes in blockchain data identification and actual asset flows. The sudden increase in positions reported by exchanges may stem from a change in address affiliation rather than buying activity.
Nick Martin explains why such changes are misleading
When commenting on the matter, Nick Martin said merchants often ask him whether significant balance changes mean large investors have purchased XRP. "Almost never," Martin explained, identifying 146 previously unmarked wallets in an hour, which was a booking-level change rather than a major purchase.
Martin added that the 5.68 billion XRPs attributed to Coinbase "were already there yesterday." His comments further confirmed XRPScan's clarification: The increase in reports does not indicate that Coinbase suddenly accumulated these assets.
This incident provides an important differentiated perspective for interpreting XRP wallet data. Wealth ranking depends in part on the identification and labeling of wallet addresses. When an analytics platform connects a previously unidentified address to a known exchange, the exchange's reported balance may change significantly even if no new XRP enters its custody.
For Coinbase, the updated affiliation makes it one of the largest identifiable XRP holders. However, the number of 5.68 billion XRPs should not be interpreted as evidence that Coinbase just made a multi-billion-dollar XRP purchase.
