Here’s the thing about crypto – it is never boring. Last week, digital asset investment products pulled in 527 million inflows, but it was not all that smooth. Investor sentiment was all over the place, thanks to the usual market nervousness and, of course, all the buzz around DeepSeek. Bitcoin, as always, was the star with $486 million inflows, while short Bitcoin products added another $3.7 million for the second week running, according to CoinShares.
But let’s talk about XRP. It has been pretty quiet for a while, but not anymore. It has had 105 million in inflows so far this year, with 15 million of that coming in just the last week. That makes it the second-best-performing altcoin out there, right behind Ethereum.
Ethereum’s had a bit of a rough patch recently, by the way. Despite a total of $177 million inflows this year, it ended last week with net zero flows. It had a bit of a fall earlier in the week, probably because of its links to the tech sector, which took a hit after Nvidia’s stumble. Add in some internal drama and a fair bit of skepticism from its own community, and Ethereum is looking a little shaky.
Meanwhile, XRP has been quietly building momentum. A lot of that is down to Ripple, which has been making some big moves in cross-border payments.
It is not just a crypto thing anymore – Ripple has its fingers in the broader financial market, backed by a solid network of institutional partners. And let’s not forget the “Made in America” label, which might just give XRP an edge as regulations and tax rules keep changing.
The real deal? XRP is doing all this without an ETF. That’s right, no exchange-traded fund, no problem. But the rumors of an XRP ETF are getting louder, and it feels like it is more a question of “when” than “if.” If that happens, expect even more money to flow in.
Could XRP eventually challenge Ethereum’s spot next to Bitcoin? Maybe.
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