Ripple CEO hails ‘Pent-Up Demand’ as XRP ETFs race to $1B

Ripple’s XRP moved ahead to take over the US crypto ETFs market with a storm, while the other major assets bled in the heavy turbulence. Brad Garlinghouse took to X to state that XRP has become the fastest crypto spot ETF to cross $1 billion in assets (outside of Ethereum). This all happened in less than four weeks after launch.

The global digital assets market is running in a recovery mode after facing one of the brutal sell-offs in history. The cumulative crypto market jumped by almost 3% over the last 24 hours to stand at $3.12 trillion. Bitcoin and Ethereum gained by 6% and 14% in the past 7 days, while XRP managed to regain by just 4%. However, investors are still in “Fear,” shown by the Fear and Greed index.

Ripple flags rising demand

Ripple CEO in an X post mentioned that a spike in XRP ETF inflow shows “pent-up demand” for regulated products. With Vanguard now opening crypto ETF access inside traditional retirement and brokerage accounts, Garlinghouse argued that digital assets are reaching a new class of investors who “don’t need to be experts in the technology” to participate.

He added that longevity, stability, and community are the traits often dismissed during crypto’s speculative cycles. However, these features are proving more important to this new wave of “off-chain” holders. This quashes all the narratives that are built around hype.

The first week of December delivered a clearer look at the crypto ETFs market. Bitcoin and Ether ETFs lost ground as volatility whipsawed mid-week trading. On the other side, Solana and XRP funds continued to quietly build momentum.

US Bitcoin ETFs posted $87.77 million in net outflows during the Dec. 1–5 stretch. BlackRock’s IBIT bounced between large inflows and redemptions. It ended the week $48.99 million lower. Fidelity’s FBTC logged $61.96 million in inflows, while Bitwise’s BITB added $9.3 million.

ARK and 21Shares’ ARKB posted the heaviest weekly outflow of $77.86 million. Grayscale’s GBTC lost another $29.77 million, and its newer Bitcoin Mini Trust saw a marginal $411,000 slip. Meanwhile,  trading volumes remained strong at $22.57 billion. This suggests that investors are just repositioning rather than stepping away.

XRP ETFs dominate with $230M inflows

Ether ETFs fared little better as they shed $65.59 million over the same period. BlackRock’s ETHA accounted for nearly all of the withdrawals with $55.87 million. This completely offset a strong showing from Fidelity’s FETH, which brought in $35.5 million. Grayscale’s Ether Mini Trust added $7.51 million, but ETHE recorded $53.17 million in outflows.

Solana painted a different picture as its ETFs knocked  $20.3 million in net inflows. Bitwise’s BSOL pulled in a standout $65.11 million. Fidelity’s FSOL, Grayscale’s GSOL, and other issuers also finished in the green. 21Shares’ TSOL saw some red indexes.

The week belonged to XRP. The new class of spot ETFs racked up $230.74 million in inflows. This extended their winning streak to a fourth straight week. Grayscale’s GXRP printed $140.17 million in inflows. Franklin Templeton’s XRPZ followed it with $49.29 million. Bitwise and Canary Capital added $21.1 million and $20.19 million, respectively.

Since their debut on Nov. 14, XRP ETFs have now attracted $897.35 million across 15 consecutive days of inflows. This spike has placed them among the fastest-growing crypto-asset ETFs ever launched. On the market side, XRP price has slid by 9% in the last 30 days. XRP is trading at an average price of $2.07 at the press time.