XRP News Today: XRP ETF's Success Clashes with Price Plunge as Whales Flood Market

The XRP ETF's historic debut on U.S. markets in November 2025 failed to stabilize the cryptocurrency's price, as institutional inflows clashed with whale-driven selling and structural market fragility. Despite the Canary Capital XRP ETF (XRPC) becoming the year's best-performing ETF launch-with $250 million in net inflows and $58 million in trading volume on day one-XRP's price plummeted below $2 within 48 hours of the ETF's Nasdaq certification. The disconnect between the ETF's success and XRP's weak performance highlights the complex interplay of macroeconomic pressures, liquidity constraints, and speculative behavior in the crypto market.

A key factor in the price decline was the aggressive offloading of XRP by large holders. Whale accounts sold approximately 200 million XRP tokens in the first two days post-launch, according to on-chain analytics firm Glassnode. This selling pressure exacerbated a structural imbalance: only 58.5% of the XRP supply was in profit as of November 2025, the lowest level since mid-2024 when the token traded at $0.53. With 41.5% of XRP-roughly 26.5 billion tokens-still in a loss position, the market remains top-heavy, dominated by late buyers who lack the liquidity to absorb large sell-offs.

The ETF's in-kind creation structure further complicated market dynamics. Unlike traditional ETFs that rely on cash transactions, XRPC allows institutional investors to exchange XRP tokens directly for ETF shares. While this mechanism attracted $44 million in net long positions from "smart money" accounts within 24 hours, it also masked the true scale of inflows, as these transactions don't register as trading volume. Analysts argue that the ETF's early success has created a false sense of stability, as the broader market remains risk-averse. Bitcoin ETFs, for example, saw $866 million in outflows on the same day-a record second-worst outflow-indicating widespread caution among institutional investors.

Market participants are now bracing for a potential turning point in 2026. While the XRP ETF's launch demonstrated strong institutional interest, analysts caution that meaningful price impacts may take time to materialize. "It could be until 2026 before we see the full effect of institutional flows on Ripple's price," one expert noted, emphasizing that the ETF's long-term success depends on sustained adoption and macroeconomic conditions. Meanwhile, technical analysts warn of heightened volatility as XRP approaches critical support levels, urging investors to monitor Bitcoin's performance for broader market signals.

The juxtaposition of XRP's ETF-driven optimism and its on-chain fragility underscores the challenges facing crypto markets. While the XRPC ETF represents a milestone for institutional access to XRP, the token's price trajectory will likely hinge on resolving structural issues-such as whale concentration and liquidity gaps-before the anticipated 2026 catalysts can fully take hold.