XRP ETF Inflows Fail to Lift Price as Whales Dominate On-Chain Activity

The recent surge in XRP's price has exposed a common misconception about exchange-traded funds (ETFs) and their influence on cryptocurrency prices. While inflows into spot XRP ETFs have set records, with a 72% spike in just 24 hours from August 24 to August 25, the actual price on exchanges is moving in the opposite direction.

The total assets under management for these funds reached an all-time high of $1.46 billion, but this did not translate into higher prices. In fact, XRP's spot price declined by about 4% over the past 24 hours to $1.3783.

Experts suggest that ETFs can stabilize and smooth out volatility in cryptocurrency prices, but they do not drive growth. The real trend is now being dictated by on-chain activity, which is attempting to digest the end of a massive 20-month depression.

A large-scale accumulation by whales was behind XRP's recent rally of more than 40%. These millionaire wallets accumulated nearly 500 million tokens immediately before last week's surge, pushing XRP out of its brutal downtrend that had lasted 608 days.