XRP Defies Gravity: How It Became the Top Crypto ETF Trade While Sliding Toward $2

Forget the price chart. While XRP's value dances around the $2 mark, it's quietly dominating a different battlefield: the exchange-traded fund.

The ETF Anomaly

Institutional money is talking, and it's not saying what retail traders expect. Major ETF issuers are piling into XRP exposure, building positions that contradict the token's sideways—or downward—momentum on spot exchanges. The disconnect is stark.

Narrative Over Numbers

This isn't a play on short-term technicals. Fund managers are betting on the story: regulatory clarity from its landmark case, a sprawling payments-focused ecosystem, and its role as a perennial bridge between crypto and traditional finance. The thesis is long-term utility, not tomorrow's pump.

The Liquidity Magnet

ETFs need assets they can move in and out of without sinking the ship. XRP's deep liquidity and established market structure make it a pragmatic, if unsexy, choice for billion-dollar portfolios. It's the workhorse, not the show pony.

A Cynical Take

Of course, on Wall Street, a 'top trade' often just means everyone's already crowded into the same position—a classic setup for the smart money to quietly exit stage left while the headlines cheer.

So, while speculators watch the $2 level like hawks, the real action is happening in the fund prospectus. XRP's price might be searching for a floor, but its institutional credibility is building a fortress.

This divergence has prompted CryptoSlate to examine how XRP’s ownership structure is shifting beneath the surface.

The strong ETF inflows alongside falling prices point to a market absorbing two opposing forces of steady institutional allocation on one side and a broader risk reduction on the other.

Essentially, this pattern reflects a more complex process in which new, regulated demand is entering the ecosystem as existing holders adjust their exposure.

XRP dominates crypto ETFs flow

The inflow profile of XRP products is statistically remarkable, particularly against a backdrop of net redemptions elsewhere.

During the reporting period, Bitcoin ETFs saw over $2 billion in outflows, and ethereum products recorded nearly $1 billion in withdrawals.

Even high-flying competitors like solana have managed only about $200 million in cumulative inflows. At the same time, other altcoin ETFs have drawn smaller totals, with Dogecoin, Litecoin, and Hedera products each holding between $2 million and $10 million.

In this context, XRP stands alone for its consistent accumulation, with the four products now holding about 0.6% of the token’s total market capitalization.

Considering this, market participants attribute the demand to the ETF’s operational efficiency. The four XRP funds offer institutional allocators a compliant, low-friction path into the asset, bypassing the custody headaches and exchange risks associated with direct token handling.

However, the fact that these inflows have not translated into upward price pressure suggests that other market segments may be reducing exposure or managing risk amid elevated macro and crypto-specific uncertainty.

This phenomenon is not unprecedented in crypto, but the scale here is distinct.

The selling pressure is likely originating from a combination of early adopters cashing out after years of volatility and potential treasury movements. The ETF boom has essentially created a liquidity bridge, allowing large-scale entities to offload positions without crashing the order book instantly.

Consolidation or centralization risk?

Meanwhile, the ownership data below the surface reinforces the view that the asset is undergoing a radical centralization.

Data from blockchain analysis firm Santiment indicates that the number of “whale” and “shark” wallets holding at least 100 million XRP has plummeted by 20.6% over the past eight weeks.

This pattern of fewer large wallets with more combined assets can be interpreted in different ways.

Some market observers have framed this as “consolidation,” arguing that supply is moving into “stronger hands.”

However, a risk-adjusted view suggests rising centralization risk.

With nearly half of the available supply concentrated in a shrinking cohort of entities, the market’s liquidity profile is becoming increasingly fragile.

This centralization of supply means that future price action is heavily dependent on the decisions of fewer than a few dozen entities. If this group decides to distribute, the resulting liquidity shock could be severe.

Simultaneously, spot exchange balances are thinning as tokens MOVE into the regulated custody solutions required by ETF issuers.

While this theoretically reduces the “float” available for retail trading, it hasn’t triggered a supply shock. Instead, the transfer from exchange to custodian appears to be a one-way street for now, soaking up circulating supply sold by the shrinking whale cohort.

The benchmark race

The inflow streak has renewed discussion about which asset could emerge as the benchmark altcoin for institutional portfolios.

Historically, regulated crypto exposure has centered almost exclusively on Bitcoin and Ethereum, with other assets attracting minimal attention. XRP’s recent flow profile, which has significantly exceeded the cumulative inflows of other altcoin ETFs, has temporarily shifted that dynamic.

Part of the interest stems from developments around Ripple. The firm’s licensing expansion in Singapore and the significant adoption of RLUSD, its dollar-backed stablecoin, give institutions a broader ecosystem to evaluate.

At the same time, Ripple’s acquisitions across custody, brokerage, and treasury management have created a vertically integrated framework that resembles components of traditional financial infrastructure, offering a foundation for regulated participation.

Still, analysts caution that a short inflow streak does not establish a new long-term benchmark.

XRP will need to sustain demand across multiple market phases to maintain its position relative to peers such as Solana, which has gained attention for its growing tokenization activity, and to assets that may attract larger flows once new ETFs launch.

For now, XRP’s performance within the ETF complex reflects early momentum rather than structural dominance.

The flows highlight genuine institutional interest, but the asset’s price behavior reflects the broader challenges large-cap cryptocurrencies face amid macroeconomic uncertainty.