A well-known XRP community figure recently called attention to a tightening XRP liquidity on Binance, arguing that a large buy could push prices up. Notably, XRP has recently recovered to above $2.6 after days of range-bound price action. While the rebound looks encouraging, some in the community note that XRP may be facing a major supply crunch that could send its price soaring in the near future. XRP Supply Tightening on Binance? Software engineer Vincent Van Code called attention to this issue in a recent discussion. Specifically, he claimed that Binance, one of the largest crypto exchanges in the world, currently holds only about four million XRP on its order book. However, there is no confirmation for this claim. This is especially strange considering Binance’s position in the industry. Van Code explained that large investors usually avoid creating this kind of price spike by buying through over-the-counter (OTC) or wholesale channels instead of trading directly on public exchanges. OTC Desks Also Drying Up For context, these private markets allow big investors to buy or sell massive amounts of XRP without causing sudden moves in the market. OTC deals typically happen off-exchange at negotiated prices, keeping the market steady and avoiding panic-driven fluctuations. However, Van Code noted that the situation is changing. He said the supply in OTC and wholesale markets is drying up because most investors now prefer to hold their XRP rather than sell. With this tightening supply, even big buyers are struggling to find enough tokens without driving the price higher. According to him, trading bots currently help manage small market buys to prevent sharp price jumps. “It will be interesting to see what happens next,” he said. Responding to this, one investor agreed and described the OTC market as the “canary in the coal mine” for XRP’s liquidity. They explained that if whales can no longer buy 10 million XRP without pushing prices sky-high, it’s a sign that the available supply has nearly vanished. The commenter compared the current situation to a slow burn leading to an inevitable explosion, suggesting that a strong rally could be close. Notably, Van Code supported this argument. How Institutions Use OTC Desks for XRP Trades Meanwhile, another individual questioned whether these OTC trades gave big investors an unfair advantage over retail traders, asking if such deals amounted to manipulation. In response, Van Code affirmed that it does not particularly translate to market manipulation. He said that if someone tried to sell 5 million XRP directly on the open market, the sale would immediately crash the price and cost the seller 5 to 10% in losses. Not at all. Let's say you want to sell 5M XRP. If you tried to do that on order book, you would tank the price and lose 5 to 10%. So you tell the "dealer", that you want to sell 5M XRP at a price which might be at or below market. The dealer then pairs you up with some dude… — Vincent Van Code (@vincent_vancode) October 27, 2025 Instead, the seller contacts an OTC dealer who connects them with a buyer interested in purchasing a similar or larger amount. Both parties agree on a price close to the current market rate, complete the deal privately, and pay the dealer a small fee for arranging it. Van Code added that this example shows why thin order books and low liquidity often cause delays or big price swings during large transactions — a problem XRP and the XRP Ledger were originally built to solve.