XRP News Today: Institutional Capital Shifts to XRP as BTC, ETH ETFs Bleed Billions

XRP Defies Institutional Meltdown, Records Massive Gains Amid BTC & ETH Tumble

The cryptocurrency market's recent turmoil has seen Bitcoin and Ethereum ETFs hemorrhage over $1 billion in a single day, yet XRP has bucked the trend, surging amid the broader sell-off. While BTC and ETH hit yearly lows, XRP funds attracted significant inflows, with the token's price rebounding above the critical $2.00 level. This divergence highlights a strategic shift in institutional capital allocation and underscores growing interest in XRP's evolving utility beyond traditional payments.

Bitcoin and Ethereum ETFs, which have driven much of the market's momentum in 2025, posted historic outflows. Spot Bitcoin ETFs recorded $903 million in net outflows on Nov. 20-the second-largest in their history-while Ethereum ETFs shed $261 million, extending a week-long downward spiral. BlackRock's IBIT, the flagship BTC ETF, faced its worst monthly performance since launch, with over $2.1 billion withdrawn in November. These withdrawals reflect a broader caution among institutional investors as crypto prices continue to slide, with BTC dipping below $82,000 and ETH slipping under $2,800.

Amid this gloom, XRP emerged as an unexpected bright spot. Newly launched XRP ETFs, including Canary Capital's XRPC and Bitwise's XRP ETF, drew substantial inflows, with the latter recording $22 million in trading volume within hours of its NYSE debut. XRP's price, which had languished below $2.00 for much of November, rebounded to $2.24, supported by ETF-driven demand and a wave of institutional adoption. This resilience contrasts sharply with the struggles of BTC and ETH, which have seen over $1.6 billion in combined ETF outflows this month.

Ripple, the company behind XRP, is also exploring ways to enhance the token's utility to capture a larger share of the DeFi market. Executives have proposed introducing native staking to the XRP Ledger (XRPL), a move that could incentivize validators and boost network security. J. Ayo Akinyele, RippleX's engineering head, emphasized that staking could address XRPL's current limitations by rewarding participants for securing the network, a feature absent in its fee-burning model. While no timeline exists for implementation, the proposal aligns with broader efforts to modernize XRPL's consensus mechanism and expand its appeal to DeFi projects.

The potential for staking has already sparked activity in the XRP ecosystem. Third-party platforms like Uphold and Binance now offer staking-style yields, allowing users to earn returns on their holdings without native XRPL support. Meanwhile, DeFi projects such as Doppler Finance and Flare Network are experimenting with liquid staking tokens to bridge XRP into decentralized finance, further diversifying its use cases. These developments position XRP to compete with Solana and Ethereum in the DeFi space, where tokenized rewards and governance incentives are becoming standard.

Technically, XRP's recent price action suggests a potential breakout. After a four-day decline below $2.00, the token has regained control above critical support levels, with the Relative Strength Index (RSI) inching toward oversold territory. Futures open interest has risen to $3.6 billion, indicating renewed risk appetite among traders. However, bears remain vigilant, as the MACD indicator continues to signal a sell bias, and a drop below $2.00 could reignite the downward spiral. Analysts caution that while ETF inflows provide short-term optimism, XRP's long-term trajectory will depend on broader macroeconomic factors and institutional adoption trends.

The XRP ETF boom also reflects a strategic pivot by Ripple. With the first U.S. spot XRP ETFs now trading, the company is positioning itself to attract pension funds and advisors who have historically favored BTC and ETH. This shift could accelerate as the SEC's regulatory stance softens, particularly after Ripple's recent legal victories. However, challenges remain, including macroeconomic uncertainty and the structural fragility of XRP's on-chain metrics, where over 40% of the supply is currently in loss.