Although no public filings confirm a direct BlackRock ownership of XRP, a pronounced reallocation of XRP balances within Coinbase this summer has prompted renewed scrutiny of institutional custody flows and visible exchange liquidity. Coinbase reduced its XRP holdings dramatically, from roughly 780 million tokens in Q2 to about 199 million by August 2025, representing a 69–75% decline overall and a concentrated 57% drop just in August. The observable change was accompanied by a sharp fall in the number of large XRP wallets on the exchange, moving from 52 to between 10 and 16, each holding near-identical balances of about 16.5 million XRP, which suggests coordinated reallocation rather than dispersed retail sell-offs. This shift coincides with increasing regulatory ambiguity that continues to stifle innovation in the crypto sector.
Analysts note that the timing of the reallocation aligns with Coinbase’s strategic partnership with BlackRock, which integrated institutional access through the Aladdin platform, and that such integrations can enable custodial shifts that reduce visible exchange supply without implying direct asset purchases by the partner. BlackRock has publicly denied owning XRP or holding large positions, and the firm has emphasized a strategy focused on Bitcoin and Ethereum ETFs, with no spot XRP ETF filings submitted to the SEC as of late 2025. Market participants thus treat rumors linking BlackRock to direct XRP ownership as speculative, driven largely by custody optics and the potential for institutions to gain exposure through third-party platforms. BlackRock does not own XRP.
Broader institutional interest is evident, however, as eight asset managers have filed for spot XRP ETFs, aided by the SEC’s 2025 designation of XRP as a commodity, which lowered regulatory uncertainty and encouraged filings. Observers caution that ETF applications and custody integrations can reduce exchange-visible supply and spur volatility, as seen when XRP prices surged above $3.00 and trading volumes tripled following the Coinbase-BlackRock announcement. Forecasts that envision prices moving toward $3.50–$5.00 by year-end 2025 reflect these dynamics, though some speculative scenarios extend much higher, and analysts warn that price projections depend on regulatory approvals and transparent reporting. Additionally, several custodians have implemented similar reallocations, indicating a wider trend of institutional reallocation.
