Usman Salis
⬤ Binance's XRP holdings took a serious hit recently, dropping from about 2.74 billion tokens down to 2.57 billion by February 16, 2026. That's more than 170 million XRP pulled off the exchange in just a short window—definitely not a small move.
⬤ The charts paint an interesting picture. While reserves kept sliding downward, the price actually found some footing after its recent drop. When tokens leave exchanges like this, it usually means people are moving them into private wallets—not getting ready to sell. It's a classic accumulation signal that traders watch closely. We've seen this movie before, like during the Bitcoin completes $62K bear flag reversal phase, where shrinking exchange supply set the stage for prices to bounce back.
⬤ "When circulating supply on exchanges decreases, price reactions to demand changes become stronger," according to market analysts tracking the movement.
⬤ This isn't happening in a vacuum either. The whole crypto market's been shifting gears lately, with capital flowing in different directions across various assets. The Bitcoin ETF inflow activity we've been seeing shows how these supply shifts can ripple through the entire market, affecting price action everywhere.
⬤ Here's why this matters: less XRP sitting on exchanges means the market gets more sensitive to buying pressure. Think of it like a seesaw—when there's less supply available for trading, even modest demand can push prices harder than usual. It creates conditions where volatility can spike quickly, and moderate buying interest suddenly has outsized impact compared to when exchanges are flush with tokens ready to trade.
Usman Salis
