Institutional differentiation is evident! XRP experiences 29 days of net inflow against the trend, while BTC and ETH spot ETFs face a capital outflow.

In December, a month generally under pressure in the crypto market, an interesting phenomenon emerged — XRP spot ETF became the “money magnet,” while Bitcoin and Ethereum funds were bleeding.

Why Can XRP Attract Institutional Capital Against the Market Trend?

The US spot XRP ETF set a record for consecutive net inflows in December, with a single-day inflow of $8.44 million on December 29, and a total monthly inflow of approximately $1.15 billion. Despite the overall adjustment pressure in the crypto market, XRP still steadily attracted long-term capital, with fund inflows of $478 million during the month.

Vincent Liu, Chief Investment Officer of Kronos Research, pointed out that XRP’s cross-border settlement use case provides investors with a unique application scenario, which is key to its ability to remain attractive during a downturn. Compared to simple value storage, the practicality of cross-border payments makes institutions more willing to allocate long-term.

The Capital Outflow Dilemma of BTC and ETH

In stark contrast to XRP’s countertrend rise, Bitcoin and Ethereum spot ETFs experienced capital outflows during the same period. In December, BTC ETF net outflows exceeded $1.1 billion, and ETH ETF outflows were about $612 million. December 15 was the most severe day for capital withdrawal, with both assets experiencing outflows of $357.7 million and $224.8 million respectively.

According to on-chain data analysis from Glassnode, since early November, the 30-day average net flow of US spot Bitcoin and Ether ETFs has remained negative, reflecting a clear cooling of institutional investor demand.

Seasonal Fluctuations or Demand Shift?

Vincent Liu believes that the capital outflows during the Christmas period are a normal market phenomenon and do not warrant excessive panic. As the market reboots in early January, institutional capital usually resumes activity. However, the significant difference in capital flows between XRP and BTC, ETH is worth pondering — does this indicate a shift in institutional allocation logic towards crypto assets, with more focus on projects with practical application value?

In any case, this wave of capital differentiation has become a key focus for outflow websites and data platforms, providing investors with new perspectives.