Key Insights
- •Spot XRP ETF is following in the footsteps of SOL ETF, demonstrating healthy institutional demand.
- •Whale order books signal slight accumulation as XRP holds near its 12-month support level.
- •XRP demand characteristics: Spot outflows are cooling down, but will the bulls capitalize?
It has been almost one month since the spot XRP ETF debuted, and preliminary data has revealed some interesting findings. The cryptocurrency has received significant attention in the last few weeks, similar to spot Solana ETFs. Spot XRP ETFs have so far registered 15 consecutive days of inflows despite prevailing market uncertainty.
The total net assets held by the XRP ETFs recently pushed above $861 million. This is an impressive feat considering that total net assets were less than $250 million in mid-November.
The continuous streak of inflows suggests healthy demand from spot XRP ETFs. This means their total AUM was on track to cross $1 billion before the end of December, assuming they maintain the same momentum. The robust demand was also observed while XRP traded at a significant discount due to its overall bearish trend since July.
Will XRP ETF Contribute to Bullish Price Action?
XRP price was exchanging hands at $2.03 at press time. The $2 price level has been acting as solid support for the last 12 months. Therefore, it would not be surprising if the cryptocurrency experiences a demand resurgence from this same level.
It was thus not surprising that institutions were taking advantage of discounted prices near this level. Speaking of demand, its Money Flow Indicator (MFI) adopted a sharp uptick in the last two weeks. This outcome confirmed elevated accumulation during this period.
XRP order book data also revealed that whales were gradually stacking up in anticipation of more XRP price recovery. Whales collectively executed over $12 million in net positive flows on the spot market since the start of December. Coinbase whales had the largest share of inflows, signaling that most of the demand was from the U.S. Whales also executed over $7.3 million in net longs over the last six days.
The higher spot inflows than derivatives positions suggest that whales might be shifting their preference to spot demand. This may point to a longer-term preference. Nevertheless, these flows remained relatively subdued, in line with the cautious market sentiment. In other words, XRP bulls might be ready to push the price higher if market conditions allow.
XRP Demand Snapshot
Attention from the whale cohort alongside healthy institutional flows may confirm demand build-up. However, XRP price was still struggling to find a bullish footing. XRP spot flow data revealed that the cryptocurrency has been bleeding liquidity for the last three months. It experienced very few days of positive spot flows.
Spot outflows cooled down substantially in the first week of December. However, demand was clearly not quick to capitalize. Nevertheless, the aforementioned accumulation by whales and XRP ETF may point to shifting demand dynamics. XRP derivatives demand also remained low judging by its open interest. XRP open interest cooled from around $4 billion at the start of the month to around $3.6 billion at the time of observation.
The market is currently waiting for confirmation that the macro-outlook will flip back to positive this month. This could set the pace for a bounce back from the $2 support or another potential capitulation event if market conditions deteriorate. Nevertheless, the discounted price action combined with observed demand from the institutional cohort may set XRP up for interesting times in 2026.