XRP News Today: Crypto's 'Hotel California' Trap as ETFs Bleed $3.8B

Ethereum (ETH-USD) fell below $2,750 on Friday, extending a broader cryptocurrency selloff driven by record outflows from U.S. spot ETFs and souring investor sentiment. The token dropped 7.6% on the day, mirroring Bitcoin's (BTC-USD) struggles as the crypto market grappled with macroeconomic uncertainty and leveraged liquidations. Bitcoin, trading below $84,000, sank as much as 6.4% to $81,629, marking its worst month since 2022.

The decline follows a surge in redemptions from U.S.-listed spot Bitcoin ETFs, which recorded $3.79 billion in outflows in November-the largest on record-according to data from SoSoValue. BlackRock's IBIT ETF alone lost over $2 billion this month, while Ethereum ETFs faced $1.79 billion in outflows. These figures highlight a shift in risk appetite, particularly among institutional investors, as traders brace for potential policy uncertainty ahead of the Federal Reserve's December meeting.

Despite the broader sell-off, XRP (XRP-USD) and Solana (SOL-USD) ETFs attracted inflows. The newly launched Bitwise XRP ETF and Canary Capital's XRPC ETF added $118 million in net inflows on Thursday, with cumulative inflows reaching $411 million. However, XRP's derivatives market remains weak, with futures open interest falling to $3.57 billion - a 39% drop from its July peak. Traders are cautiously buying the dip, as evidenced by a rise in the XRP OI-Weighted Funding Rate to 0.0072% from -0.0006%.

Ethereum's technical outlook remains bearish. The token is trading well below its 50, 100, and 200-period exponential moving averages (EMAs) on the 4-hour chart, with the RSI at 23 (oversold) and the MACD indicator widening negatively. A rebound would face resistance at the descending 50-day EMA of $2.16, while a sustained close above $2.45 could ease downward pressure.

The selloff has also raised concerns about the sustainability of crypto-treasury firms. BitMine, the largest corporate Ether holder, faces a $3.7 billion unrealized loss as its mNAV ratio (enterprise value to crypto holdings) fell below 1, complicating fundraising efforts. Analysts warn that the industry's opaque fee structures and lack of liquidity could trap investors in a "Hotel California" scenario, where exiting positions incurs steep losses.

With volatility spiking to a one-month high and risk-off sentiment dominating, the crypto market remains vulnerable to further declines. Institutional outflows and macroeconomic headwinds suggest a challenging end-of-year outlook unless a reversal in ETF flows or a shift in Fed policy sparks renewed demand.