XRP whales bought $560M in XRP tokens over the past week, according to data from Santiment. Whale holdings increased amid a delay in XRP Exchange-Traded Fund (ETF) approval as investors and analysts anticipate floodgates of ETF approvals once Washington reopens.
The successful launch of both Bitcoin and Ethereum spot ETFs triggered the submission of new ETF filing applications for other cryptocurrencies, including Ripple XRP.
While spot ETFs for other cryptocurrencies like Hedera and Solana have been approved by the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), the approval of a spot XRP ETF by the SEC has been repeatedly delayed.
The US SEC has been reviewing the XRP ETF proposal for months, and the recent “miss in deadline” proved that the delay in approval is seemingly rooted in regulatory uncertainty and market structure concerns.
Currently, the SEC has paused the review because of a government shutdown.
This excuse, however, is not tenable because the recent approval and launch of SOL, LTC, and HBAR ETFs came amidst the government shutdown, which is now in its 27th day.
Despite the pause, whales continued accumulating XRP, hoping for the US ETF approval soon.
Whales Fattened Their Wallets With $560M XRP Tokens
Recent data from Santiment revealed that whales are accumulating XRP tokens. At the time of writing, whales have scooped up about $560M over the past week.
XRP whales, investors, and analysts are optimistic that once the government reopens, the XRP ETF will be reviewed and approved as well.
Andrew Jacobson, former global head of legal at 21Shares, said that,
I expect ETFs for most tokens to ultimately be approved by the SEC, so long as the new generic listing standards are complied with.
He added that,
Fall is often the hottest season for ETFs, and once the government is back up and running, things will move very fast.
Bullish Signs For XRP
Despite the delay in approval by the US SEC, the XRP price has been improving due to several signs of vitality, which include a surge in XRP ETF products attracting significant investments.
For instance, Rex-Osprey XRP ETF, launched in September, crossed $100M in assets under management last week. Teucrium’s leveraged XRP ETF amassed over $366M in net assets since its launch in April, overshadowing Teucrium’s other funds.
Apart from the surge in ETF inflows, XRP has also become an attraction for digital asset treasuries. About 10 firms, including VivoPower and Webus, are currently building XRP treasuries.
Evernorth, a Ripple-backed digital asset treasury firm, currently holds the most XRP on its balance sheet. To date, Evernorth has acquired $947 million worth of XRP tokens.
