South Korean XRP Reserves Drop as US Spot ETFs Post First Outflow

Beincrypto reports XRP reserves on South Korea’s Upbit and Bithumb fell by about 22 million tokens in early January 2026, even as US spot XRP ETFs recorded a $40.8 million net outflow on January 7.

Manual analysis of wallets holding over 1 million XRP showed reserves down roughly 22 million tokens (0.14% of total supply) since December 31, 2025, with Upbit losing around 40 million XRP, Bithumb about 20 million, and Binance gaining 25–30 million in the same period. Whale transactions on the XRP Ledger reached 2,802 on January 6, a three-month high, a 29% jump from the prior day that the report says suggests active positioning by large holders. The reserve movement echoes a pattern that preceded XRP’s 560% rally in late 2024.

US spot ETFs saw their first net outflow since launching in mid-November 2025, led by a $47.25 million withdrawal from the 21Shares XRP ETF (TOXR) while Grayscale’s GXRP posted a $1.69 million inflow; cumulative net inflows remain $1.2 billion and assets under management $1.53 billion. The divergence between Korean exchange outflows and the ETF reversal complicates the outlook: past CryptoQuant data showed similar exchange lows in mid-2024 without an immediate price rally, and broader tracking suggests about 14 billion XRP remain on exchanges. Whether Korean retail withdrawals can offset softening institutional flows is the key question heading into the rest of January.

Key Topics

Crypto, Xrp, Upbit, Bithumb, Binance, Us Spot Etfs