A Misleading Signal from an Automated Tracker On September 8, Coinbase's balance on the XRP Ledger appeared to surge 4,870% within a single hourly update, jumping to more than 5.5 billion $XR
On September 8, Coinbase's balance on the XRP Ledger appeared to surge 4,870% within a single hourly update, jumping to more than 5.5 billion $XRP. The XRP Rich List Bot, an automated monitoring tool that reports hourly tracking of significant wallet changes, posted the update showing Coinbase's balance rising 4,870.7% to 5,569,165,957 XRP. The figure briefly suggested the exchange had suddenly acquired billions of dollars worth of the token.
No such purchase had taken place. The surge coincided with no announcement of new buys or of Coinbase receiving the massive stash of XRP, prompting XRPL explorer XRPScan to set the record straight.The spike did not correspond to any large-scale purchase or transfer of funds to the exchange, but rather to a change in the wallet identification methodology used by the scanner.
XRPScan clarified that Coinbase did not gain 5.5 billion XRP. The change was caused by a major update to its wallet identification system, with XRPScan having just completed the identification and labeling of 146 previously unidentified Coinbase wallets.This change placed existing balances under Coinbase, creating the appearance of a sudden 4,870.7% increase in XRP holdings.
The update is part of an improvement process that XRPScan announced in August 2026, aimed at providing more precise and consolidated data on the token's largest holders on the ledger.The clarification was necessary given that the XRP Rich List Bot is an automated tool, making it important for XRPScan to add the right context.
The reclassification does, however, give a more accurate picture of how much XRP Coinbase actually holds in aggregate. With the new records incorporated, Coinbase now shows a total balance of 5,683,635,165 units, equivalent to 5.684% of the circulating supply across 152 accounts, placing it in third position in the global ranking.Ripple leads the rich list with a 3,781,131,458 XRP balance and 35,700,000,000 XRP in escrow, while Upbit sits in second place with 6,416,060,312 XRP across 12 accounts.Binance ranks fourth with a 2,608,237,482 XRP balance across 18 accounts.
The episode is a reminder that automated on-chain trackers can generate misleading headlines when wallet labeling changes occur at scale. The underlying XRP holdings were always there. Only the attribution was new.
Sources:U.Today: Coinbase's XRP Balance Explodes 4870% on Rich List, but It Is Not New XRPCrypto Economy: Coinbase's XRP Balance Explodes 4,870% to 5.5 Billion XRPXRPScan: XRP Rich List
