Is Coinbase Manipulating XRP? Coinbase Sell-Off: Coincidence or Coordinated?

• Coinbase accused of dumping massive XRP stacks in low liquidity hours spooking traders hard.
• Claims link exchange outflows with XRP stuck at resistance while whispers of Wall Street games rise.

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A new debate has surfaced in the cryptocurrency space after claims that Coinbase deliberately manipulated XRP’s price. The allegations focus on massive sell-offs that reduced Coinbase’s XRP holdings by nearly 70% over the past months.

Crypto investor Stern Drew has been at the forefront of these claims. He argued through data pulled from XRPScan that Coinbase decreased its XRP reserves from 780 million to 199 million. That reduction removed the exchange from the rank of fifth-largest holder and placed it toward the bottom of the top ten.

Drew believes that the timing of these reductions was not random. He claimed the sales often occurred during low-liquidity hours, which could magnify downward price swings. He further noted that funds were routed through multiple wallets, a move he described as an attempt to disguise the origin of the sell-offs.

Drew’s Allegations of Tactical Price Suppression

In his analysis, Drew presented several connections between Coinbase’s actions and XRP’s repeated struggles near $1.20 resistance. He pointed to a 0.87 correlation between Coinbase outflows and XRP’s inability to sustain rallies. He also suggested that large volumes eventually ended up at OTC desks linked to financial institutions.

The proposed motives, according to Drew, include Coinbase’s alleged ties to Ethereum Foundation affiliates, potential Wall Street positioning to accumulate cheaper XRP, and even the use of XRP price suppression as leverage in ongoing U.S. policy debates. 

He also speculated that such practices could shield banks associated with SWIFT from liquidity disruptions, protect Ethereum’s standing in institutional circles, and reduce XRP’s so-called multiplier effect during critical market shifts.

Ripple and Legal Voices Push Back

Despite the seriousness of the allegations, no regulator or court has issued confirmation, and Coinbase has not addressed the accusations. Attorney Bill Morgan responded directly to the community debate, saying: 

Ripple’s CTO David Schwartz also dismissed the manipulation claims. He stated that regulatory battles and general market conditions remain the actual drivers of XRP’s movements rather than orchestrated sell-offs from a single exchange.

Currently, XRP trades at $2.80, down 1.25% over the past 24 hours. At the same time, trading volume spiked by 11.45% to reach $5.54 billion, reflecting heightened activity despite the uncertainty surrounding Coinbase’s role.

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