XRP ETFs XRPI and XRPR Surge as $2.94 XRP Price Rides ETF Flows, SEC Ruling, and Institutional Demand

XRP ETFs XRPI and XRPR Surge as Institutional Flows and Regulatory Wins Reshape the Market

XRPI ETF: Futures-Based Structure Faces Roll Costs but Offers Regulated Access

The XRP ETF (NASDAQ:XRPI) closed at $17.84, up 3.24%, after moving between $16.38 and $19.08 in September. Assets under management stand at $200.66 million, with an expense ratio of 0.94% (waived from the full 1.15% until June 2026). Unlike spot ETFs, XRPI is tied to CME XRP futures contracts, meaning performance lags XRP-USD when the curve is in contango. Year-to-date, XRPI’s return remains 0%, sharply underperforming the 58.32% one-year gain for the broader Digital Assets ETF category.

This structural gap mirrors the BITO vs. IBIT split in the Bitcoin ETF market: futures ETFs consistently trail spot counterparts. For XRPI, the difference is already material given XRP’s 450% surge over 12 months, largely driven by December 2024’s rally. Futures exposure limits that upside and creates drag through contract roll. Still, XRPI offers listed options trading, allowing investors to use covered calls or protective puts, a critical tool in a market where XRP’s weekly ranges have spanned $2.71 to $2.98 with intraday swings of more than 5%.

XRPR ETF: Stronger Flows and Price Momentum at $24.45

The REX-Osprey™ XRP ETF (XRPR) has emerged as the more liquid choice for U.S. traders. XRPR closed at $24.45, gaining 3.43% on the day, with an additional +5.34% after hours to $24.32. The fund’s 52-week range is $22.31–$25.99, showing resilience near the top end of its band. Trading volume was 254,619 shares, still below the 612,577 average, but inflows have accelerated in sync with rising Bitcoin ETF inflows ($430M on Sept. 30), as institutional allocators increasingly treat XRP ETFs as the logical “next leg” in crypto diversification.

Unlike XRPI, XRPR positions closer to a spot-tracking structure, offering more direct exposure to XRP’s price. The spread between the two funds is now drawing arbitrage activity, with traders noting XRPR’s stronger response to whale wallet accumulation — more than 120 million XRP moved into large wallets in the past 72 hours, boosting sentiment.

Regulatory Shift: SEC No-Action Letter and ETF Filing Withdrawals

A pivotal development came on Sept. 30, 2025, when the SEC’s Division of Investment Management issued a no-action letter, allowing qualified custodians like Coinbase and BitGo to be treated as banks for digital asset custody. For XRP ETFs, this eliminated one of the final institutional barriers: custody risk.

At the same time, seven spot XRP ETF applications (Grayscale, Bitwise, WisdomTree, 21Shares, Canary Capital, Franklin Templeton, CoinShares) were reshuffled after the SEC asked issuers to withdraw Form 19b-4 filings. Rather than delays, this signaled a pivot to Generic Listing Standards (GLS), allowing faster approvals. With deadlines starting Oct. 18 (Grayscale) and extending into November, the market is bracing for simultaneous spot XRP ETF launches. Bloomberg analysts now assign a 95% probability of approval, while prediction markets price it around 80–88% odds.

Macro and Partnerships: SWIFT, RLUSD, and Global Expansion

Ripple’s ecosystem is adding fuel to ETF demand. On Sept. 29, Ripple partner Thunes linked its Pay-to-Banks service to the SWIFT network, instantly extending XRP liquidity to more than 11,000 banks. The next day, Ripple rolled out its RLUSD stablecoin in Africa with Chipper Cash, VALR, and Yellow Card, targeting remittance corridors. Major exchanges including Kraken, Gemini, Bybit, Uphold, and Bitso already list RLUSD pairs, embedding XRP liquidity in tokenized Treasury markets via BlackRock’s BUIDL and VanEck’s VBILL funds.

In Japan, SBI Ripple Asia signed a memorandum with Tobu Top Tours to build an XRP Ledger-based tourism payment system, slated for 2026, adding an NFT and tokenized payments angle. These developments give XRP ETFs a broader macro narrative beyond speculation: embedded settlement rails and stablecoin linkages.

Leadership Transition and Insider Shifts

Ripple’s long-time CTO David Schwartz announced his departure by year-end, shifting into an advisory board role. While leadership exits often spook markets, XRP-USD held firm around $2.85–2.94, with Ripple’s President Monica Long highlighting his ongoing influence. CEO Brad Garlinghouse even noted Schwartz’s new board seat gave him “the boss role now.” Market reaction was muted, with only a brief 3% spike toward $2.94, confirming resilience in investor confidence.

Technical Landscape: $2.80–$3.00 Crucial Band

XRP-USD trades at $2.85, holding above a $2.71 weekly low and repeatedly testing $2.92–2.93 resistance. A break above $3.00 would open targets at $3.20 and the 2018 all-time high at $3.66, while failure below $2.80 could see a retrace toward $2.50. Futures open interest on CME has already crossed $1 billion, reinforcing institutional adoption. Analysts expect ETF inflows of $4–8 billion in the first month could reprice XRP into the $5–7 range, with more aggressive projections (Kenny Nguyen, Canary Capital) eyeing $22–50 if demand mirrors Bitcoin ETF dynamics.

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