Ripple Co-Founder's Wallet Sends $26 Million in XRP to Coinbase as Token Nears All-Time High

A significant transfer of XRP tokens worth over $26 million took place earlier this week, with a crypto wallet associated with Ripple co-founder Chris Larsen sending 9.5 million XRP tokens to Coinbase.

This move comes just before the price of XRP began to surge, indicating that the transfer may have been a catalyst for the token's rapid appreciation. Around the time of the transfer, XRP was trading at approximately $2.8 per coin on CoinGecko, but within under 10 hours, its value had skyrocketed to over $3 and eventually reached as high as $3.3, representing a 10% gain in an incredibly short period.

At the time of writing, XRP was trading around $3.2, with its value only 6% below its all-time high. The sending address belongs to a group of wallets linked to Larsen that had previously moved $109 million worth of XRP to exchanges in January 2025.

These wallets had remained inactive for at least six years and were identified by on-chain researcher ZachXBT as belonging to the same group of addresses that moved funds in January 2024. According to ZachXBT, Larsen may have lost access to these wallets, leading to speculation about potential liquidation.

The latest wallet movement follows a January 2024 security breach where Larsen lost $112 million in XRP through a hack connected to a LastPass security incident from 2022. The stolen funds were rapidly distributed across multiple crypto exchanges, including Binance, Kraken, and OKX.

While exchanges like Binance froze $4.2 million worth of stolen XRP, attackers had already laundered or converted a substantial portion of the funds. The recent transfer to Coinbase has led some to speculate about potential liquidation, as transfers to centralized exchanges often precede sales.

The situation surrounding XRP's price movement and the ownership of these wallets remains unclear, leaving many questions unanswered about Larsen's involvement and the future of the token. As the situation continues to unfold, one thing is certain: the rapid appreciation of XRP has caught the attention of investors and enthusiasts alike.