- Analyst Mike Fay says XRP’s worth is pushed by ETFs, not community utilization.
- Regardless of stablecoin progress, XRP Ledger exercise and charges declined sharply in 2025.
- The XRP ETF attracted billions of {dollars} in inflows, serving to to take care of the token’s valuation.
XRP’s worth is primarily supported by exchange-traded funds and investor inflows somewhat than elevated community utilization. This score relies on latest evaluation by Looking for Alpha contributor Mike Fay.
ETF demand offsets slowdown in community exercise
Mike Fay’s evaluation factors out that ETF demand is a significant component supporting XRP’s valuation. Notably, the Spot XRP ETF was launched within the US in November 2025 and has since attracted billions of {dollars} in property.
The Canary Capital fund is the primary XRP ETF launched on November thirteenth. It presently ranks highest in property below administration (AUM) at $392.75 million. The Bitwise XRP ETF, which was launched per week later, ranks second with roughly $309.6 million in property below administration. Franklin XRP ranks third with $287.85 million in property below administration.
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XRP attracted practically $3.7 billion in internet funding inflows in 2025, rating third amongst digital property behind Bitcoin and Ethereum. Regardless of some small outflows in the beginning of the yr, whole funding publicity entered the primary week of 2026 at slightly below $3.6 billion.
After internet outflows of $40.8 million yesterday, January seventh, the XRP ETF has cumulative internet inflows of $1.2 billion as of this writing. This was the primary damaging influx in 2026. Subsequently, the entire internet property of the XRP ETF is $1.53 billion.
On-chain indicators present a decline yr after yr
Whereas ETF inflows remained sturdy, XRP Ledger exercise declined throughout the identical interval. Within the fourth quarter of 2025, each day energetic addresses fell practically 27% year-over-year, in accordance with knowledge cited by Fay. The quarterly numbers confirmed about 21,700 energetic addresses, down from about 30,000 within the year-ago interval.
Buying and selling volumes didn’t decline as sharply, falling by roughly 12% year-on-year. Community expenses have fallen much more considerably. Charges incurred within the fourth quarter decreased to roughly $129,000 from roughly $600,000 within the prior quarter. Whole charges for the yr totaled roughly $2.3 million.
Fay emphasised that charges are an essential measure of financial exercise, noting that charges mirror precise demand for block area somewhat than speculative earnings.
Stablecoin progress stays restricted
The XRP Ledger recorded a excessive progress charge in stablecoin exercise in 2025. Stablecoin switch quantity reached practically $1 billion within the fourth quarter, a rise of practically 500% year-over-year. Throughout this era, the provision of stablecoins on the community additionally elevated.
Regardless of its progress, the XRP Ledger’s share of world stablecoin switch quantity remained small. Whole stablecoin transfers throughout blockchains through the quarter reached roughly $19.7 trillion, giving the XRP Ledger a market share of lower than 0.01%.
XRP analysis and ETF construction threat
Throughout the evaluation interval, XRP’s market capitalization remained at round $136 billion. Mr. Fay famous that valuation metrics comparable to market worth versus realized worth stay above historic averages, indicating that costs are above holders’ realized value foundation.
He additionally warned of dangers related to ETF constructions. Not like spot crypto markets, ETFs solely commerce throughout market hours. This limits buyers’ capacity to react to cost fluctuations throughout weekend and in a single day buying and selling.
Mr. Fay concluded that XRP’s worth efficiency is more and more depending on investor move somewhat than community utilization. Whereas ETFs provide regulated entry and liquidity, on-chain knowledge progress has thus far been restricted. Looking forward to 2026, the important thing query stays whether or not community exercise can sustain with market expectations.
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