Early XRP Investors Sell-Offs Keep Price Low, Here’s How They’re Doing It

[Ben Graham]

XRP’s price has remained restrained despite steady activity around the asset, and recent commentary helps explain the disconnect. According to Jake Claver, CEO of Digital Ascension Group, the explanation lies beyond Ripple’s escrow releases or retail behavior, pointing instead to structural factors influencing how XRP supply reaches the market.

How XRP Investors Are Selling Without Spooking The Market

Claver explained in a recent post on X that large XRP sales are primarily happening through institutional channels such as over-the-counter (OTC) trades and dark pools that keep activity out of public view, rather than on public exchanges. He specifically pointed to platforms such as FalconX and Kraken’s dark pool infrastructure. These venues are designed for institutions, hedge funds, and early investors who want to move large positions without advertising their intentions on open order books.

This matters because public exchanges are highly sensitive to large sell orders. When big sales appear on an exchange, they often cause rapid price declines as other traders react. OTC desks operate differently. They match buyers and sellers privately, allowing XRP to change hands without immediate impact on visible market prices. As a result, significant amounts of XRP can be sold while the chart appears relatively stable.

For early investors who accumulated XRP at much lower prices years ago, this approach is highly efficient. It allows them to gradually exit or rebalance positions while protecting execution quality. For the broader market, however, it creates a disconnect. Demand may exist, but as long as a steady supply is being released through private channels, upward price momentum remains limited. This explains why XRP can struggle to break higher even in periods of positive sentiment or strong network-related narratives.

ETF Demand Is Quietly Draining The Same Liquidity Pool

An important extension of Claver’s point came not from a comment beneath his original post. A reader asked for a “best estimate” on when OTC desks might run out of supply. He responded that supply is shrinking every day, with ETFs actively depleting available liquidity.

This exchange is critical for understanding the bigger picture. ETFs do not typically buy XRP on public exchanges in a way that distorts price. Instead, they source liquidity through OTC desks, the same channels early investors are using to sell. This means ETFs are steadily absorbing XRP that would otherwise remain available for quiet distribution. Over time, this dynamic changes market structure. As ETFs and other institutional products continue to draw down OTC inventories, early investors will have fewer opportunities to sell large positions without touching public markets. When that happens, selling activity becomes more visible, and price discovery shifts back onto exchanges.

Until OTC supply tightens meaningfully, XRP’s price may remain capped despite ongoing demand. The key takeaway is straightforward: current price suppression is not a lack of interest in XRP, but a consequence of how and where early investors are choosing to sell.