Institutional buyers accumulate XRP through spot products despite price decline and bearish sentiment
XRP spot exchange-traded funds recorded net inflows of $116.74 million in May, according to data from SoSoValue, marking sustained institutional demand even as XRP traded down to $1.31 last week and broader crypto markets deteriorated.
The inflow pattern stands in sharp contrast to Bitcoin and Ethereum ETFs, which experienced outflows of $1 billion and $300 million respectively during the same period. Bitcoin ETFs are on a six-day consecutive outflow streak, while Ethereum ETFs have logged 10 consecutive days of outflows.
XRP has recorded no net outflows in May despite the price pressure. The $116.74 million inflow brings cumulative net inflows to $1.41 billion since XRP ETFs launched last year. XRP ETFs currently hold $1.13 billion in total net assets, representing 1.36% of XRP’s market cap.
According to X Finance Bull, a crypto pundit tracking institutional behavior: “institutions buying XRP through ETF products are not reacting to the weekly price action but are positioning ahead of catalysts.” He added that “smart money accumulates when the price goes down.”
On-chain analytics platform Santiment measured bullish-to-bearish comment sentiment at a 1.1 ratio, indicating predominantly negative crowd sentiment. Historical patterns suggest negative sentiment on XRP has acted as a contrarian signal for price movement.
Catalysts on the horizon
Institutional positioning may reflect several upcoming developments. The DTCC tokenization initiative is scheduled to go live in July. Ripple, the company behind the XRP Ledger, recently secured a $200 million debt facility through Ripple Prime. The XRP Ledger is seeing increased tokenization activity, and JPMorgan has initiated a settlement on the XRP Ledger, though details remain limited.
Additional catalysts cited by market participants include the CLARITY Act and potential changes to Federal Reserve leadership with Kevin Warsh.
XRP traded at $1.33 at the time of reporting, up marginally from the $1.31 low recorded last week. The sustained inflows despite price decline and bearish social sentiment underscore a divergence between retail sentiment and institutional capital allocation in XRP spot ETF products.
