U.S. spot XRP ETFs near $1B in inflows after record-breaking launch

US spot XRP exchange-traded funds are closing in on $1 billion in cumulative inflows since the first product launched on November 13. XRP had the most significant altcoin ETF debut to date, which gave Wall Street its clearest test case for regulated exposure to a utility token.

According to crypto traded fund data provider SoSovalue, spot XRP ETFs in the US have posted a 15-day run of inflows gathering a net $897.35 million. The four funds from Canary Capital, Grayscale, Bitwise, and Franklin Templeton have had zero redemptions since their onset.

Mati Greenspan, founder of Quantum Economics, said the products should reach $1 billion in net inflows by the end of the year. “It will absolutely continue this momentum and reach the milestone shortly. The pathway is already cleared,” Greenspan reckoned.

He added that XRP is benefiting from a broader institutional appetite for regulated crypto exposure, far from the resurgence of enthusiasm for the technology itself.

“In many ways, XRP is being swept up in the broader institutional wave simply because it already has the liquidity, the brand, and now the green light from regulators. That doesn’t mean renewed excitement about the tech itself, but it does explain the strong ETF inflows.”

US crypto law changes Wall Street’s view on altcoins

Ripple and its native token XRP had hit a regulatory bump with the US Securities and Exchange Commission before US President Trump started his second term. After 2023, when Judge Analisa Torres ruled that XRP is not a security, the SEC sent several appeals to reverse the court ruling, causing the case to stall for over two years.

However, after the SEC underwent a leadership change and the Trump administration ended its “regulation by enforcement” tenure, Ripple was ordered to pay a $125 million fine in August, finally bringing the lawsuit against them to a close. That, according to Greenspan, was the outcome that removed the negative notion institutions had of XRP.

“Institutions are responding to its newfound regulatory clarity, its current market position and long operational history. XRP hasn’t shown the same pace of innovation or user-driven traction as some of the newer networks, but legacy matters,” he continued.

The steady inflows in spot XRP funds have persisted during a period of market declines in the crypto ETF market. Bitcoin and Ether investment vehicles had a forgettable November, with the former recording over $3.7 billion redemptions as Bitcoin consolidated between $86,000 to $94,000 during the month. 

XRP ETF issuers relied on over-the-counter trading desks to manage liquidity during the October and November selloff. According to a report from Investing, OTC channels helped stabilize creation and redemption flows enough for XRP products to attract “higher-quality institutional capital” than BTC and ETH ETF launches.

Ripple’s $500 Million share sale flocked by Wall Street heavyweights

Ripple’s $500 million share sale in November brought close big Wall Street players, including Citadel Securities LLC and Fortress Investment Group. The transaction valued Ripple at $40 billion, the highest valuation for a privately held crypto firm.

According to people with knowledge of the transaction, two funds assessed that more than 90% of Ripple’s net asset value was tied to XRP. Company disclosures showed Ripple held $124 billion worth of XRP as of July, with much of it locked and released gradually.

The group of backers, alongside funds linked to Marshall Wace, Brevan Howard, Galaxy Digital, and Pantera Capital, secured mechanisms to help Ripple’s valuation have a minimum upside. 

Still, XRP has fallen about 34% from its three-month high of $3.18, and has dropped more than 40% from its mid-July high. Ripple, on the other hand, has been busy running several business lines, including a stablecoin division and a prime brokerage operation.

Ripple’s funding round comes on the backdrop of several crypto companies raising funds for operations and IPOs. About $23 billion was garnered from venture capital rounds and public listings, according to PitchBook. 

The records exclude Tether Holdings SA seeking up to $20 billion from SoftBank Group Corp. and Ark Investment Management LLC, Bloomberg reported.

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