XRP ETF Surge Fails to Lift Price Above $2—Here's Why Money Inflows Don't Equal Instant Gains

XRP spot exchange-traded funds closed the final week of 2025 on a bullish note, attracting $64 million in net inflows—the strongest performance among major cryptocurrency ETFs during the same period. However, despite this institutional capital influx, XRP remains trapped below the $2 psychological barrier at $1.97, leaving many investors puzzled about the disconnect between fund flows and price momentum.

The ETF Buying Machine: How Institutional Money Actually Moves Markets

To understand why massive ETF inflows haven’t catapulted XRP’s price higher, it’s essential to look under the hood of how these funds operate. When capital enters XRP ETFs, fund managers don’t rush to public exchanges to buy tokens. Instead, they execute over-the-counter (OTC) transactions with institutional market makers—large firms that serve as intermediaries in high-volume trades.

These market makers compete aggressively to offer the best pricing for institutional orders, then gradually source the required XRP from broader markets to fulfill the custodian’s requirements. This behind-the-scenes process means buying pressure is diffused across time and venues rather than concentrated in visible exchange orders. The result: price appreciation occurs gradually, without the sharp spikes investors often anticipate during heavy inflow periods.

Bitwise’s Chief Investment Officer recently elaborated on this dynamic, noting that while OTC purchases do ultimately affect spot markets, the impact is indirect and measured—dampening the immediate price reaction many market participants expect.

Competition in the ETF Space Tells Another Story

The broader ETF landscape reveals interesting shifts in institutional preference. While XRP ETFs captured $64 million in fresh capital, Ethereum spot ETFs experienced $102 million in net outflows during the same week. Solana’s ecosystem proved more attractive, with SOL-focused funds drawing $13.14 million across all listed products. This divergence suggests investors are rotating positions rather than uniformly bullish on all major asset classes.

Technical Roadmap: XRP Must Clear Critical Resistance

Price action remains the ultimate arbiter of market direction. XRP is approaching a pivotal technical juncture—potentially closing out the month below a key support level for the first time this year. Analysts emphasize that XRP needs to establish a monthly close above $2.08 by January’s end to preserve a bullish technical structure.

The messaging from chart-focused traders is clear: zooming out on longer timeframes reveals structural concerns. If price fails to break above $2.08, it signals a potential shift in momentum and warrants a reassessment of bullish positions. Technical strength, as they say, is ultimately determined by price action—not sentiment or capital flows alone.

The Waiting Game

XRP’s situation epitomizes a common market paradox: institutional adoption and ETF inflows can coexist with sideways price action, at least in the short term. The question for investors now is whether the ongoing institutional accumulation will eventually translate into explosive price discovery, or whether technical resistance will continue to cap upside potential.