XRP ETF Holders Underwater by $133M While Whales and Institutions Build Elsewhere

U.S. spot XRP ETFs show $1.66B in assets against $1.79B in deposits, while large wallets added 1.61 billion tokens since September 20.

Retail investors who bought into U.S. spot XRP exchange-traded funds are nursing a collective paper loss of roughly $133 million, the product of steady inflows that have since been overtaken by a softer market. Cumulative net deposits into the funds stand at $1.791 billion, yet total assets under management have slipped below that figure — landing at $1.658 billion after a fresh round of redemptions.

The most recent session saw $3.28 million leave the group, with Bitwise's vehicle accounting for the entire outflow. No other fund in the segment attracted new money that day, leaving the aggregate AUM exposed to both the withdrawals and a weaker backdrop for digital assets. Bitwise, Franklin Templeton and Canary Capital together hold the bulk of the capital committed so far.

A Split Market: Funds Bleed, Whales Accumulate

The retreat marks a shift for vehicles that had spent the preceding months steadily absorbing fresh capital. Buyers who entered at higher prices have been pushed into the red as valuations compressed. Yet the pullback has not been uniform. On-chain data from Santiment shows deep-pocketed wallets adding 1.61 billion XRP since September 20, lifting that cohort's combined holdings to a record 13.93 billion tokens. The divergence paints a market pulling in two directions at once: publicly listed funds shedding exposure while large private holders quietly stockpile.

Macro headlines did part of the damage. A weak U.S. jobs report dented risk appetite across global markets, dragging Bitcoin lower and sending XRP as far as $1.44 during U.S. trading hours. Against that backdrop, the token has since steadied, changing hands at $1.49 for a daily gain of 0.4% and sitting 7.5% above its 50-day moving average of $1.39.

Brazil Taps the Ledger as Evernorth Eyes Nasdaq

Beyond price action, the network's utility is widening. Brazilian financial market infrastructure firm CSD BR is reportedly using the XRP Ledger as an additional recording and verification layer for domestic financial assets, starting with shares in investment funds managed by major lender BTG Pactual. The arrangement extends the ledger's role beyond payments into the documentation and auditability of regulated capital market products, aiming to make settlement records more dependable and verification simpler through a decentralized register.

Corporate-level token holdings are expanding in parallel. Shareholders of Armada Acquisition Corp. II on Wednesday approved a merger with Evernorth Holdings, a Ripple-backed entity planning to build a company treasury in XRP. The deal covers more than 473 million tokens, and the combined company intends to list on the Nasdaq under the ticker XRPN once remaining steps close.

Validators Back Batch Upgrade, Mainnet Date Set

On the technical front, the BatchV1_1 upgrade — which bundles up to eight transactions — has regained the support of 30 of the network's 35 verified validators after an earlier delay. If that level holds, October 9, 2026 is the earliest date for final activation on the mainnet. The feature is designed so that grouped transfers either clear together or are rejected as a unit.

Network activity has picked up alongside these developments. Stablecoin supply on the XRP Ledger climbed 14.57% over a week, crossing the $1.3 billion mark. Ripple also released its customary one billion tokens from escrow — one billion on October 1, and another billion on Thursday across four transactions — with the majority typically re-locked.

Institutional flows offer a counterweight to the recent ETF outflows. U.S. spot XRP funds drew $121.4 million in net inflows during September, and net assets stood at $1.69 billion as of September 29. With infrastructure integrations advancing and a validator vote in play, the market is searching for a floor after the turbulence of recent sessions.