XRP Exchange Balances Shatter All-Time Record - What This Means for the Crypto Market

XRP just hit a milestone that's turning heads across crypto exchanges. The digital asset's exchange balances have surged to levels never seen since its launch—a signal that's sparking fierce debate among traders and analysts.

The Exchange Balance Conundrum

When tokens flood onto exchanges, the narrative splits. Some see it as accumulation—investors parking assets for quick moves. Others interpret it as distribution pressure building, with holders potentially preparing to sell. For XRP, this record-breaking movement comes at a critical juncture, with regulatory clouds parting and institutional adoption whispers growing louder.

Reading Between the Blockchain Lines

Exchange balances don't operate in a vacuum. They interact with trading volume, open interest, and broader market sentiment. A surge could indicate smart money positioning for volatility, or it might reflect retail piling in after positive news—because nothing says 'investment thesis' like chasing headlines after a 10% green candle.

The Liquidity Paradox

High exchange liquidity cuts both ways. It enables smoother large transactions but also lowers the friction for panic selling when markets dip. For XRP, this new record creates a fascinating tension: enhanced market efficiency against increased potential for rapid price swings.

This development doesn't just reflect XRP's current state—it reveals how crypto markets mature. Assets once driven purely by speculation now generate sophisticated on-chain metrics that traditional finance veterans would recognize, albeit with more volatility and fewer suits. The record-setting exchange balance might be another step toward legitimacy, or just another number for traders to overanalyze between coffee breaks.

XRP Supply On Exchanges Falls To Historic Lows

Crypto market expert Chad Steingraber drew attention this week to fresh data from Glassnode, highlighting an unusual divergence in XRP’s market behavior. The analytics firm shared a chart tracking the amount of XRP held on crypto exchanges alongside the asset’s market price. 

According to Steingraber, the chart’s readings show that exchange balances have fallen well below the XRP’s price structure for the first time since the cryptocurrency’s inception. Glassnode highlighted XRP’s exchange supply with a green line on the chart and its price with a black line. At the start of the year, the supply on exchanges was around 3.8-4 billion XRP. However, through the middle, reserves gradually trended downward but mostly stayed within the 3.2-3.6 billion range. 

Notably, a Glassnode chart shared by crypto analyst ChartNerd reveals that XRP exchange balances dropped sharply from around 3.95 billion XRP to 2.6 billion XRP from November to December 2025. About 1.35 billion XRP was removed from public order books recently, representing a staggering 45% decrease in under 60 days. 

Usually, exchange supply and price MOVE together without significant divergence because the former tends to influence sell-side liquidity, which, in turn, can affect market movements. When more XRP is held on these crypto platforms, traders have a larger pool of tokens to sell, which can increase market pressure. 

Conversely, when reserves shrink, it often signals that investors are withdrawing their assets, either for long-term storage or profit-taking after recent price moves. While the vast gap between XRP’s exchange balances and its price action raises concerns, whales have reportedly been selling off their holdings amid ongoing market volatility and as prices struggle to stage a meaningful rebound.

Glassnode Reports Massive Collapse In Daily XRP Fees

In addition to the collapse in XRP exchange balances, Glassnode’s data shows a steep drop in the cryptocurrency’s network activity, with average total fees falling dramatically. Since early February, the 90-day SMA of daily fees paid has decreased from about 5,900 XRP to only 650 XRP. This marks an estimated 89% drop and brings activity to its lowest point since December 2020. 

The decline in daily fees suggests a cooling in on-chain demand for XRP transactions, even as the price has remained weak amid broader market uncertainty. The cryptocurrency is currently trading around $2.00, reflecting a 7.7% weekly decline and a much larger 18% crash over the past month, according to CoinMarketCap.