XRP ETFs Face First-Ever Weekly Outflow as Price Drops Below Launch Levels

XRP Spot ETFs See First Weekly Outflow

Spot XRP ETFs are on track to record their first-ever weekly outflow since their launch in November 2025. This marks a significant shift from their previous performance, where they averaged $127.5 million in weekly inflows, boosted by a strong first day with $243 million in inflows, according to data from SoSoValue.

Market Sentiment and Price Action

The outflow trend began on Tuesday, with over $53 million leaving the funds. This development coincides with XRP trading at a price lower than when the ETFs were initially rolled out. The cryptocurrency has shed nearly 20% from its 2026 high of $2.39, reflecting broader market pressures.

Social data from blockchain analytics firm Santiment indicates that XRP is in "Extreme Fear" territory. Small retail traders have become pessimistic following a -19% drop since the high on January 5th. Santiment noted, "If we reach levels of bearishness that we were seeing back on November 20-21, 2025, it would be an indication that a major bounce is likely."

Broader Market Context

As the overall market adopts a risk-off stance amid geopolitical tensions, other major cryptocurrencies are also experiencing declines:

• Ethereum has decreased 7% in the last 24 hours and is essentially flat for 2026, hovering just below $3,000.
• Bitcoin is down 3.6%.
• Solana slumped 5.6%.
• Dogecoin tumbled 4%.

Despite the downturn, BitMine Immersion Technologies, a leading Ethereum treasury firm, acquired an additional 35,268 Ethereum tokens worth $108 million last week, bringing its total to 4.2 million tokens valued at nearly $12.7 billion. The firm also allocated 581,920 tokens for staking, highlighting continued institutional interest.

Ethereum Network Activity

On a positive note, the Ethereum parent chain set a new record with over 2.5 million transactions on Wednesday, a 34% increase from 1.9 million transactions on New Year's Day. According to Artemis research analyst Alex Weseley, the growth is driven by increased usage of stablecoins like USDC and USDT, with usage up over 200% year-over-year. Notably, the average transaction fee has remained low at < $0.20, compared to $52 during the 2021 peak.

This record follows the activation of Pectra and Fusaka upgrades last year, which aimed to enhance Ethereum's scalability. Weseley commented, "The changes Ethereum is making to scale the L1 are starting to pay off, though we are still in the early innings."

ETF Flows Comparison

While XRP ETFs face outflows, spot Ethereum ETFs in the US have seen almost $415.9 million in total inflows this year, with $175 million from Wednesday alone. Ethereum's price has increased ~7% in the past seven days, outperforming peers like Bitcoin, XRP, Solana, and Dogecoin.