The launch of the first U.S. spot XRP ETF was a historic milestone, but the market’s reaction has been a tale of two contrasting stories, revealing a deep division between institutional entry and the profit-taking strategies of large holders.
A Landmark ETF Meets a Whale Exodus
The debut of Canary Capital’s XRP ETF (XRPC) on November 13 was, by all measures, a resounding success. It shattered records, becoming the strongest ETF launch of 2025 with a first-day trading volume of $58 million and attracting approximately $245 million in initial inflows. This explosive start signaled a massive pent-up demand from institutions and traders seeking regulated exposure to XRP.
However, this wave of institutional interest was immediately met with a powerful counter-current. In the 48 hours following the launch, large XRP holders, often called “whales”, dumped nearly 200 million tokens onto the market. This massive sell-off, valued at hundreds of millions of dollars, created overwhelming selling pressure that the initial ETF inflows could not counter, causing the price to drop below the $2.20 level.
Decoding the Contradictory Reaction
This divergence between a bullish event and a bearish price action can be attributed to a few key factors. Primarily, this is a classic “sell the news” event. The long-anticipated ETF launch became a liquidity window for whales to monetize their holdings and realize profits after a significant rally earlier in the year.
Furthermore, the broader market context played a crucial role. The ETF launched amid a widespread crypto sell-off, with Bitcoin experiencing notable outflows from its own ETFs. This created a risk-off environment where even positive news for a single asset like XRP struggled to overcome the prevailing negative sentiment. It’s also important to distinguish between ETF share trading and the actual purchase of XRP. While shares traded hands briskly, the fund issuer’s process of converting cash inflows into the underlying XRP token involves a T+1 settlement cycle, meaning the full spot market buying pressure isn’t instantaneous.
The Market’s Path Forward
The immediate aftermath has left XRP at a technical crossroads. The price decline broke through several key support levels, pushing the token into a lower trading range. Analysts are now closely watching the $2.10 to $2.22 zone as critical support; a failure to hold here could open the door for a deeper correction toward $1.90 or even $1.60. For any hope of a bullish reversal, the price must first reclaim the $2.36 to $2.40 resistance level.
Despite the short-term turbulence, the launch of XRPC fundamentally changes XRP’s market structure by opening a steady, regulated channel for institutional capital. The key question for traders and treasury desks now is whether sustained ETF inflows and accumulation by smaller whales during dips can eventually absorb the selling pressure from large holders and establish a new foundation for growth.
