XRP (XRP) reserves on major exchanges Binance and Upbit have surged to nearly 9 billion tokens since January, raising concerns about potential selling pressure as the cryptocurrency erased its early-year gains and fell below $2.
What Happened: Exchange Balances Hit 10% of Supply
Data shows XRP balances on Binance reached 2.72 billion tokens while Upbit held nearly 6.3 billion XRP as of late January.
The combined reserves now account for almost 10% of the circulating supply. An inverse correlation between Upbit balances and XRP's price has become increasingly apparent since the first week of January, when the token traded at $2.40.
XRP has since dropped to $1.83.
Whale-to-exchange transactions on Binance have also increased, suggesting large holders are moving coins onto trading platforms. Grayscale's GXRP fund recorded its largest-ever outflow of $53.32 million on Jan. 20, driven by President Donald Trump's tariff threats against European NATO members.
Cumulative net inflows into XRP spot ETFs remain at $1.23 billion as of Jan. 23, with total net assets of $1.36 billion.
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Why It Matters: Institutional Rotation vs. Macro Headwinds
A report from Token Relations points to institutional rotation from Bitcoin (BTC) into XRP, noting that December 2025 saw $483 million in XRP ETF inflows while Bitcoin ETFs recorded $1.09 billion in outflows during tax-loss harvesting season.
"Trading liquidity remained robust, consistently processing between $20 million and $80 million in daily value," the report stated. "Adoption exceeded expectations for altcoin ETF launches, with steady daily inflows indicating systematic allocation strategies rather than speculative trading."
Ripple has continued expanding use cases for its RLUSD stablecoin on the XRP Ledger through partnerships with multiple countries and institutions. If XRP holds above $1.88 and ETF inflows continue, analysts suggest a retest of $2.40 remains possible.
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