Investors Add $320M to U.S. XRP ETFs Despite $746M Shortfall

Five U.S. spot XRP exchange-traded products recorded roughly $320.8 million of net primary-market inflows in the first half of the year, while the group reported a combined $746.1 million gap between accounting cost and fair value at June 30. The five grantor-trust products are managed by Bitwise, Canary Capital, Franklin Templeton, 21Shares and Grayscale.

SEC filings show the funds held a total of 906.8 million XRP on June 30 with a combined accounting cost of about $1.693 billion and a fair value of $947.3 million, producing a $746.1 million shortfall, or 44.1% below recorded cost.

During the first half the sample registered $629.9 million in primary-market share creations and $309.1 million in redemptions, leaving net capital activity of about $320.8 million. Flows varied by manager. Bitwise reported $268.2 million of creations and $33.8 million of redemptions, a net inflow of $234.4 million. Canary reported $88.3 million of creations and $5.9 million of redemptions, netting $82.4 million. Franklin reported $181.4 million of creations and $13.6 million of redemptions, netting $167.8 million. Grayscale recorded $66.6 million of creations and $180.8 million of redemptions, a net outflow of $114.2 million. 21Shares recorded $25.5 million of creations and $75.0 million of redemptions, a net outflow of $49.5 million.

Creations and redemptions occur between the funds and authorized participants in the primary market and are not direct retail purchases. The funds’ accounting shortfall reflects the prices at which the funds acquired XRP, not the individual cost basis of each investor.

ETF analyst James Seyffart described the aggregate flows as “surprisingly resilient” and reported cumulative net inflows across U.S. XRP spot products rising to nearly $1.6 billion by Aug. 24, $1.64 billion by Aug. 29 and about $1.8 billion by Aug. 31, indicating the June 30 snapshot was one point in an ongoing flow pattern.

The five-fund holdings imply a breakeven price near $1.87 per token to erase the $1.693 billion accounting cost. XRP traded near $1.38 in late summer; at that level the group would remain below cost. Under price scenarios used by the funds, a token price of $1.50 would raise the sample’s fair value to roughly $1.36 billion, narrowing the shortfall, while prices of $0.90 or $0.75 would lower fair value to about $816 million or $680 million respectively, increasing the deficit.

REX Osprey’s XRPR product was excluded from the analysis because its 1940 Act structure and use of other funds for XRP exposure make its balance sheet not comparable to the five grantor-trust products examined.

If XRP prices move toward the $1.50–$1.90 range, the funds’ fair values would move closer to their recorded cost; if prices fall toward $0.75–$0.90, the accounting shortfall for the five-fund sample would widen materially.