XRP overtakes Solana in ETF race with aggressive fee strategy

XRP is leading the race for altcoin supremacy in the US crypto exchange-traded fund (ETF) market with its record performance since last month.

In less than 10 trading days, the new crop of US spot XRP ETFs has registered cumulative inflows of roughly $587 million, compared with approximately $568 million for their Solana counterparts.

This surge turns the sector’s hierarchy on its head, establishing XRP as the primary venue for non-Bitcoin and Ethereum risk appetite in a market otherwise defined by outflows and defensive positioning.

Solana vs XRP ETFs

Solana ETFs had set the early pace in the sector.

Since debuting on Oct. 28, US spot Solana ETFs logged 20 consecutive days of net inflows, totaling approximately $568 million. This helped push the funds’ total assets to $840 million, representing about 1% of the token’s market capitalization.

However, XRP has compressed that trajectory into a hyper-accelerated window.

As of Nov. 21, US spot XRP products had already amassed $423 million. However, the Nov. 24 entry of heavyweights Grayscale and Franklin Templeton triggered a massive capital injection, adding approximately $164 million in net creations in a single session.

This brings the XRP complex’s cumulative total to roughly $587 million, vaulting past Solana’s month-long haul in nearly half the time.

On a capital-intensity basis, XRP is now absorbing institutional dollars at almost double the daily rate of its rival.

The race to zero

The velocity of the flip is being driven by a structural “race to the bottom” on costs.

Franklin Templeton has established the most aggressive pricing benchmark in the crypto ETF sector. Its XRPZ fund carries a 0.19% sponsor fee, which is fully waived on the first $5 billion in assets through May 31, 2026.

For institutional allocators and model portfolios, where basis-point friction dictates selection, XRPZ effectively becomes a zero-cost carry trade for the next six months.

Grayscale’s GXRP has adopted a similar posture, waiving its standard fees for the first three months.

This aggressive issuer subsidization coincided with peak demand. The Nov. 24’s $164 million surge suggests that a significant tranche of capital was sidelined, waiting specifically for these low-cost, brand-name wrappers to go live before deploying.

While Solana ETFs also utilized waivers for funds like Bitwise’s BSOL, the sheer scale of Franklin’s $5 billion cap appears to have unlocked a larger tier of institutional flow immediately upon listing.

Momentum vs. gravity

The most telling divergence, however, lies in the relationship between flows and price action.

Solana’s $510 million in inflows has arrived amid a 30% price correction from recent highs. In this context, ETF flows have acted as a dampener, absorbing sell-side pressure from existing holders but failing to reverse the trend.

Effectively, this makes the SOL ETF’s performance a defensive accumulation story.

By contrast, XRP flows are fueling a breakout. The token had also experienced a drawdown of around 17% in the last 30 days but rose roughly 10% following the Nov. 24 session.

This aided XRP’s breakout above $2, with the token trading as high as $2.27. On-chain analysis from Glassnode identifies this region as a “major psychological zone,” where legacy holders typically sell to break even on losses from early 2025.

In previous cycles, this supply wall capped rallies. Today, the ETF bid is changing the calculus. With funds absorbing $50 million to $100 million daily, the ETFs are creating a non-price-sensitive demand sink capable of digesting legacy supply.

Unlike Solana, where flows are fighting gravity, XRP flows are acting as a battering ram, turning a historical resistance level into an accumulation floor.

The Path to $2 billion?

With four issuers now live and the $500 million milestone cleared in under 15 trading days, market observers are recalibrating their year-end projections.

The current run rate places XRP on a trajectory that outpaces many analyst expectations for non-Bitcoin assets.

If the current trend persists, which is characterized by daily inflows normalizing in the $40 million to $60 million range following the launch hype, the complex is on pace to challenge the $1.5 billion mark by year-end.

However, a “bull case” scenario is emerging.

If the fee waivers from Franklin Templeton successfully court registered investment advisors (RIAs) and the rotation out of underperforming assets continues, the complex could theoretically approach $2 billion in assets under management (AUM) before the books close on 2025.