Wall Street Shifts Focus: XRP ETFs Attract Institutional Floodgates While Bitcoin & Ethereum Stumble

Big money's playing musical chairs—and the music just stopped for crypto's old guards.

The XRP Takeover

Institutional capital isn't dipping toes anymore—it's diving headfirst into XRP ETFs. TradFi's latest golden child saw inflows surge while Bitcoin and Ethereum bled out this week. Guess even hedge funds get bored of the same old narratives.

Crypto's Reckoning

BTC and ETH's dominance is eroding faster than a sandcastle at high tide. The 'digital gold' and 'world computer' slogans aren't moving the needle like they used to. Meanwhile, XRP's regulatory clarity (yes, we're as shocked as you are) makes it the shiny new toy for risk committees.

The Punchline

Watch Wall Street 'discover' the next big thing—right after they finish front-running retail. Some things never change.

Since their launch on November 13, XRP exchange-traded funds (ETFs) traded in the US have surpassed the $1 billion threshold, marking a significant milestone in institutional interest towards altcoins. According to data from SoSoValue, these ETFs experienced a net inflow of $10.89 million on Monday alone. Contributions from Canary, Grayscale, and Franklin Templeton funds have highlighted XRP’s prominence in the regulated investment space, setting it apart from Bitcoin$90,357.50 and Ethereum$3,093.86.

Institutional Capital Turns to XRP

Vincent Liu, CIO of Kronos Research, interprets the increase in funds within XRP ETFs as evidence of institutional investors gravitating towards regulated cryptocurrencies with distinctive stories. Liu points out that while macroeconomic uncertainties persist, investors continue diversifying their portfolios with long-term strategies. XRP’s emerging clarity on the regulatory front and its potential in the corporate payments sector contribute to the steady influx of investments.

Data reveals a similar trend occurring with Solana$132.93‘s spot ETFs, which commenced trading in October. As of Monday, Solana ETFs received inflows of $35.2 million, escalating the total to $711.3 million. This situation underscores that assets beyond Bitcoin and Ethereum are experiencing significant interest from investors.

Sharp Exits from Bitcoin and Ethereum ETFs

Conversely, Monday witnessed a net outflow of $357.7 million from Bitcoin ETFs. Leading the withdrawals was Fidelity’s FBTC ETF with $230.1 million, followed by a $44.3 million outflow from Bitwise’s BITB ETF. Grayscale, Ark & 21Shares, and VanEck’s ETFs similarly encountered investor withdrawals. These exits mark the largest single-day outflow observed since November 20. Ethereum ETFs also registered a weak performance with a $224.8 million outflow on the same day.

Bitcoin’s price dropped from $89,000 to $85,500 on Monday, stabilizing around $86,080 by Tuesday morning. Liu clarified that investors are retreating to safer havens due to year-end liquidity tightening and the unwinding of leveraged positions. He also highlighted that the limited effect of the Fed’s interest rate cuts is deepening the sell-off wave in the cryptocurrency market.