Ethereum Funds Bleed Billions While XRP Sees Major Inflows: Are Investors Switching Sides in 2025?
Crypto's narrative flips overnight. Billions flee one pillar of the ecosystem, only to flood into another. The rotation is on.
The Great Rotation
Forget sideways action—this is capital in motion. While established giants face relentless outflows, a controversial contender suddenly finds itself on the receiving end of massive institutional interest. It's not a broad market rally; it's a targeted bet on a shifting regulatory and technological landscape.
Follow the Smart Money (Or the Desperate Money)
The flow of funds tells a clearer story than any price chart. Massive, sustained outflows signal a crisis of confidence—or at least a strategic pause. Conversely, a sudden surge of inflows into a specific asset screams conviction. It's the classic Wall Street playbook: cut losers, ride winners. Whether this is visionary allocation or just hot money chasing the next narrative remains to be seen—after all, in crypto, today's genius trade is tomorrow's regulatory headache.
A New Leader Emerges?
The market isn't static. Leadership changes, often violently. As one network grapples with its own success—congestion, fees, the endless upgrade cycle—others position themselves as leaner, faster alternatives. Investors aren't loyal to code; they're loyal to returns. If the tide turns, they will turn with it, leaving even the most venerable projects to wonder where all the liquidity went.
So, are investors switching sides? The money says yes. Whether they're jumping ship or just diversifying their life rafts is the billion-dollar question. One thing's certain: in the high-stakes casino of digital assets, the house always wins... and the house is whoever holds the keys to the next wave of adoption.
Ethereum ETFs See Billions Exit In One Month
According to SoSoValue data, ethereum Spot ETFs have experienced sustained capital outflows over the past four weeks, with cumulative net outflows since the beginning of November coming in at $1.725 billion. November alone accounted for $1.42 billion of those redemptions, making it the worst month for Ethereum ETF flows since the products launched in the US in July 2024.
The intensity of the selling was evident across several trading sessions during November, where daily outflows exceeded $250 million on a few occasions. This negative momentum has carried into December with little sign of stabilization. Spot Ethereum ETFs have extended their outflow streak, with the most recent two trading days alone recording net redemptions of $224.78 million and $224.26 million, respectively.
At the same time, Ethereum’s Spot price has struggled to gain traction. The continued ETF outflows have coincided with muted price action, with ETH failing to hold above $3,000.
Rather than seeing rotation between Ethereum products, the data shows capital leaving the Ethereum ETF complex altogether. This pattern means that investors may be reallocating funds away from ETH exposure into other assets, and XRP is showing the strongest conviction.
Spot Ethereum ETF Flows. Source: SoSoValue
XRP ETFs Record $1 Billion In Consistent Inflows
The first U.S.-listed Spot XRP ETF was launched on November 23, and the momentum has been positive since then. At the time of writing, there are now five Spot XRP ETF issuers in the US, and they have yet to have a collective day of outflows.
In contrast, XRP-linked spot ETFs have posted a full month of uninterrupted net inflows. This comes up to 22 consecutive trading days, with a cumulative inflow of $1.01 billion since launch. This, in turn, has pushed total assets under management to around $1.16 billion as of December 16.
Spot XRP ETF Flows. Source: SoSoValue
Ripple CEO Brad Garlinghouse described the growth of XRP ETFs as a signal of broader structural demand for regulated crypto products. He recently highlighted that XRP became the fastest crypto spot ETF since Ethereum to surpass $1 billion in assets under management in the US. This shows institutional crypto investors are switching sides from Ethereum to XRP.
The divergence becomes even more pronounced when compared with Bitcoin, which has always dictated the pace of general inflows. According to data from SoSoValue, Spot Bitcoin ETFs are on a combined outflow of $3.915 billion since the beginning of November.
Spot bitcoin ETF Flows. Source: SoSoValue
What makes these numbers more interesting is that they are coming at a period of bearish price action for the entire crypto market, with the xrp price even breaking below the $2 support level.
