Overview
- A Dec. 27 post asserted U.S. spot XRP ETFs had reduced exchange balances to roughly 1.5 billion XRP and predicted a 2026 supply shock.
- Validator Vet disputed that estimate on Dec. 28, presenting counts near 16 billion XRP on centralized exchanges as readily available liquidity.
- Vet argued exchange balances and order-book depth are highly dynamic because holders can move XRP to venues within seconds.
- Participants questioned wallet-label accuracy, with critics calling some entries off while Vet characterized the published tally as a conservative lower bound.
- Others said effective float could still tighten over time due to escrow schedules, ETF custody wallets, and institutional accumulation, even without evidence of an immediate allocation squeeze.