Bitwise’s spot XRP exchange-traded fund has crossed $507 million in assets under management, a sharp marker of institutional demand even as XRP’s latest rebound appears to be running out of steam. The token traded around $1.36 to $1.37 at the end of August, well below the $1.70 level some market participants had been watching.
XRP gained 37% during August, its strongest monthly performance since the settlement of Ripple’s long-running dispute with U.S. securities regulators. Yet the rally has not erased near-term fragility: the token was still down roughly 7% over the preceding week as leveraged positions were unwound & buying momentum slightly faded.
ETF demand remains the market’s clearest XRP support
U.S. spot XRP funds recorded about $110 million of weekly inflows, helping sustain demand during a period of uneven price action. The growth of Bitwise’s fund to more than half a billion dollars in assets suggests that XRP exposure is increasingly reaching investors through regulated products rather than only crypto exchanges.
That demand has given XRP a firmer institutional narrative than it had earlier in the year. But flows into funds do not automatically translate into a straight-line price advance, particularly when derivatives traders are reducing risk after a strong monthly run.
A September upgrade could test the rally’s foundations
The market is also approaching a Sept. 11 XRP Ledger mainnet upgrade expected to strengthen features tied to vaults, automated market makers and a lending protocol. The changes are aimed at improving the network’s infrastructure for more sophisticated and potentially institutional uses.
Traders appear to be pricing in much of the ETF-led momentum while giving less attention to the technical shift planned on the ledger, according to market commentary. That leaves the upgrade as a potential catalyst, but also as an event that must prove its usefulness after implementation.
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