thecryptobasic.com
A crypto investigator, widely recognized as “Mr. Huber” on X, claims that Ripple often liquidates its $XRP holdings to buy Bitcoin, especially during times of significant market upturns for $BTC.
Mr. Huber recently reestablished this claim as market participants continue to scrutinize $XRP’s underperformance amid its monthly inflation due to Ripple’s persistent escrow unlocks and sales.
The crypto sleuth initiated the conversation on X by calling attention to $XRP’s supply increase compared to other assets like Bitcoin, Ethereum, Cardano, and Solana, which have been top performers in this emerging bull run.
Responding to the post, $BTC enthusiast Franco Cappello pointed out a graph of $XRP’s performance in relation to Bitcoin. The graph depicted a pronounced downtrend for $XRP against $BTC since July 2023 after $XRP briefly rallied to $0.93.
Considering $XRP’s downtrend against $BTC, Cappello alleged that Ripple increased its Bitcoin holdings through the period. He claimed $XRP’s underperformance resulted from Ripple exchanging $XRP for Bitcoin.
“Ripple says they let $XRP ‘breathe’ in $XRP/USD, but I propose they let $XRP breathe in $XRP/$BTC,” Cappello remarked.
However, Capello had no concrete evidence to back up his claims, ascribing it to “common sense.” He claimed that since Ripple understood $BTC’s value was bound to take impact amid ETF approvals, it was logical to assume Ripple liquidated $XRP to buy Bitcoin.
Brah, common sense, they 100% hold many assets in their balance sheet, including $BTC and they are constantly using the $XRP chest to rebalance their portfolio, they knew btc was going to go up because of ETFs and they were so hungry to increase their $BTC stash.
— Franco Cappello (@loogart) March 13, 2024
Crypto Investigator Agrees
Famous $XRP community investigator Mr. Huber attested to the claim, similarly arguing that it is inferable that Ripple sells $XRP for Bitcoin. However, he provided more background to his argument.
It's common sense. Ripple is in the liquidity business. They offer $BTC and $ETH so they have to buy them to offer them. $XRP is their most liquid asset at their disposal. Selling $XRP for ODL, USD, $BTC, $ETH, Doge and other assets they offer in their liquidity solutions. Once their… https://t.co/RHzOW3KbRv
— Mr. Huber🔥🦅🔥 (@Leerzeit) March 13, 2024
Mr. Huber highlighted that Ripple is in a liquidity business that requires it to hold Bitcoin, Ethereum, and other crypto assets. He noted that $XRP accounts for the firm’s most liquid crypto holding.
Accordingly, he noted that Ripple must liquidate $XRP for other crypto assets used in their On-Demand Liquidity service (now Ripple Payments).
Furthermore, Mr. Huber claimed that when Ripple’s $XRP liquidity notably decreases, the company would sell off other assets to repurchase $XRP “to build price momentum.” Moreover, he asserted that Ripple typically repeats this process in a cyclical manner.
“[They have been] selling $XRP for years to buy $BTC. But who am I to create these conspiracy theories,” the crypto sleuth submitted.
Notably, Mr. Huber has been a longstanding champion of the view that Ripple repeatedly sells an underperforming $XRP for a better-performing Bitcoin. A few weeks ago, he speculatively attributed Bitcoin’s surge to Ripple by claiming:
“[Ripple] might also be the ones pushing Bitcoin up by buying Bitcoin with $XRP first, to then sell Bitcoin at its peak to buy $XRP.”