XRP Surges 6% as Institutional Accumulation Builds: New ETFs Hit $1.1 Billion and Buyers Flood In

What to Know

• XRP surged approximately 6% from $1.34 to $1.42 on February 25, 2026, significantly outperforming Bitcoin on the day.
• Spot buying volume for XRP surged 212% between February 23 and 24 at crypto exchange Bitrue, with buyers outnumbering sellers by more than two to one.
• XRP exchange-traded funds, launched in mid-November 2025, have now accumulated approximately $1.1 billion in total net assets — drawing steady inflows even as Bitcoin ETFs are net negative year-to-date.
• The breakout above the $1.37 resistance level triggered a volume spike to 259 million units — more than double XRP’s daily average trading volume, confirming genuine market participation.
• The $1.1 billion in XRP ETF net assets represents a meaningful capital rotation away from Bitcoin ETFs, suggesting shifting preferences within institutional crypto allocations.
• Spot traders realized approximately $1.93 billion in losses during mid-February’s market drawdown — a historically significant shakeout that has often preceded stronger recoveries once leveraged positions clear.
• Near-term support for XRP is at $1.40–$1.42, with key resistance at $1.45 representing the next major hurdle to overcome.
• XRP continues to benefit from ongoing regulatory clarity around its status in the U.S., following landmark legal developments in the Ripple vs. SEC case that concluded in late 2025.

XRP’s Breakout: Understanding the Story Behind the Move

In a crypto market that has been largely defined by indiscriminate selling, fear, and institutional withdrawal over the past several months, XRP‘s performance on February 25 stood out as genuinely different in character from the broader relief rally. While many tokens bounced sharply — partly or entirely as a result of short-covering mechanics — XRP’s move had additional substance behind it: an enormous and sudden surge in spot buying volume that pointed to active accumulation rather than simply the mechanical reversal of bearish bets.

Between February 23 and 24, spot buying volume for XRP on the platform surged by an extraordinary 212% — not options, not perpetuals, not leveraged products, but actual spot purchases of XRP tokens. This is the category of buying activity that most strongly suggests genuine conviction rather than speculative positioning, and the scale of the surge was unlike anything Bitrue had observed in the preceding weeks of market stress.

The technical trigger for the move was the break above $1.37 — a price level that had served as a significant resistance ceiling for XRP during multiple previous rally attempts in February. When price finally pierced convincingly through that barrier, it activated a wave of volume that hit 259 million units in a single session, more than double XRP’s daily average trading activity. Volume expansion of this magnitude on a resistance breakout is one of the most reliable technical signals available to traders — it indicates that the breakout is being driven by broad market participation rather than thin-market price manipulation.

The XRP ETF Story: $1.1 Billion and Growing

One of the most underappreciated aspects of XRP’s current market position is the rapid growth of its exchange-traded fund ecosystem. XRP ETFs — the first of which launched in mid-November 2025 following the resolution of Ripple’s long-running legal battle with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission — have now accumulated approximately $1.1 billion in total net assets. This figure, accumulated over just a few months of existence, represents a meaningful institutional embrace of XRP as a legitimate investable asset.

What makes this number particularly significant is the context in which it was achieved. U.S. spot Bitcoin ETFs — the most successful new product category in ETF history when they launched in January 2024 — are net negative year-to-date in 2026, meaning that the cumulative inflows into Bitcoin ETFs in 2026 have been outpaced by outflows. Bitcoin ETF investors have, on balance, been withdrawing capital from their positions rather than adding to them. XRP ETFs, by contrast, have been drawing steady and consistent inflows throughout the same period of market stress.

This divergence in ETF flows between Bitcoin and XRP suggests something important: rather than representing a wholesale exit from crypto allocations, some of the capital leaving Bitcoin ETFs may be rotating into XRP ETFs. Institutional investors who remain committed to maintaining crypto exposure but are seeking an alternative to Bitcoin — perhaps because of XRP’s more favorable regulatory standing, its distinct use case in cross-border payments, or simply its more attractive risk-reward profile at current price levels — appear to be finding XRP ETFs a compelling destination for their crypto allocation.

Why the $1.93 Billion in Realized Losses Matters for XRP’s Recovery

To understand why XRP’s current technical setup is more constructive than it might appear at first glance, it is important to understand the significance of the $1.93 billion in realized losses that spot XRP traders absorbed during the mid-February market downturn. This figure, also reported by Bitrue, represents the total dollar value of XRP tokens sold at a loss by investors during the period of peak market stress.

Realized losses of this magnitude are significant because they represent what market analysts call a “capitulation” event — a period in which investors who had been holding XRP in an underwater position finally threw in the towel and sold at a loss rather than continuing to hold through the pain. Capitulation events, while painful for those experiencing them, serve an important cleansing function in markets: they transfer tokens from weak hands — investors whose resolve breaks under pressure — to strong hands — buyers who are willing to purchase at distressed prices and hold for the long term.

When a capitulation event of this scale has occurred, the subsequent structure of the market is typically healthier because the supply overhang of sellers waiting to exit positions at break-even is reduced. Investors who chose to sell during the capitulation are out of the market; those who remain are, by definition, more committed holders who are less likely to sell at the first sign of adversity. This dynamic historically creates more favorable conditions for sustained recovery once buying demand begins to reassert itself — which is exactly what the 212% surge in spot buying volume at Bitrue suggests may be starting to happen.

Regulatory Tailwinds: How the Ripple Victory Changed Everything

Any honest analysis of XRP’s current market position must grapple with the regulatory transformation that has occurred in the asset’s legal environment over the past year. Following Ripple’s landmark legal victory in its case against the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission — which concluded in late 2025 with a definitive ruling that XRP is not a security in the context of programmatic sales on exchanges — the fundamental risk profile of XRP as an investment has changed dramatically.

Prior to that ruling, XRP carried a unique regulatory risk that Bitcoin and Ethereum did not: the possibility that the SEC would ultimately succeed in classifying it as an unregistered security, which would have created severe restrictions on its trading, listing, and potential institutional adoption in the United States. That existential legal risk — which had been hanging over XRP for more than four years from the time the SEC filed its initial lawsuit — is now definitively removed. XRP can be traded on U.S. exchanges without restriction, offered through regulated financial products including ETFs, and accumulated by institutional investors without concern about regulatory enforcement actions.

This regulatory clarity, combined with Ripple’s ongoing expansion of its On-Demand Liquidity (ODL) service — which uses XRP as a bridge currency for cross-border payment corridors — provides XRP with a combination of regulatory security and real-world utility that differentiates it from purely speculative crypto assets. The growth in XRP ETF assets under management can be partly attributed to institutional investors recognizing and acting on these improved fundamentals.

The Technical Picture: What the Charts Are Saying About XRP

From a purely technical analysis perspective, XRP’s behavior around the $1.37 resistance level has been a textbook example of how significant price levels operate in financial markets. The $1.37 level had rejected multiple rally attempts during February, acting as a ceiling that contained bullish momentum on each previous visit. The failure to break that level on prior occasions served to reinforce its significance as resistance in the minds of market participants — meaning that when the eventual breakout finally arrived, it was all the more meaningful.

The volume surge to 259 million units — more than double the daily average — that accompanied the break above $1.37 is the critical confirming signal that distinguishes a genuine breakout from a false one. Without accompanying volume expansion, a price break above resistance can easily be reversed when the light volume conditions that allowed the initial push evaporate. With strong volume participation, the breakout is far more likely to represent a genuine shift in market structure.

Looking ahead, the $1.40–$1.42 zone has now become the critical support area that XRP needs to defend on any pullback. As long as price remains above this level, the near-term structure remains constructive. The next significant resistance level is at $1.45, and a sustained break above that price would open the path to a test of the $1.50 psychological level and potentially higher. Conversely, a failure to hold above $1.37 on any retest would be a bearish signal suggesting the breakout was a false one and that the prior trading range remains intact.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

Why is XRP rising while Bitcoin ETFs are seeing outflows?

XRP is benefiting from a combination of factors that are distinct from Bitcoin: regulatory clarity following Ripple’s legal victory against the SEC, growing real-world utility through Ripple’s cross-border payment network, and the relatively recent launch of XRP ETFs that are attracting fresh institutional capital. The divergence in ETF flows suggests some institutional investors are rotating within their crypto allocations rather than exiting crypto entirely.

What are XRP ETFs and how much have they accumulated?

XRP ETFs are exchange-traded funds that provide investors with regulated exposure to XRP without requiring direct ownership of the token. The first XRP ETFs launched in mid-November 2025 following Ripple’s legal victory over the SEC. As of February 25, 2026, these products have accumulated approximately $1.1 billion in total net assets, drawing steady inflows even during a period when Bitcoin ETFs are net negative year-to-date.

What does the 212% surge in XRP spot buying mean?

The 212% surge in spot buying activity on exchange Bitrue between February 23 and 24 indicates that investors were actively purchasing XRP at the market price rather than engaging in speculative leveraged trading. This type of spot accumulation is generally viewed as a more reliable indicator of genuine buying conviction than activity in derivatives markets, which can be driven by short-term tactical positioning.

What is the current support and resistance for XRP?

As of February 26, 2026, the key support zone for XRP is at $1.40–$1.42 — the level from which the recent breakout rally was staged. Overhead resistance is at $1.45, with the $1.50 psychological level representing a further hurdle above that. A sustained break below $1.37 would signal a failed breakout and suggest a return to the prior trading range.

How did Ripple’s SEC case affect XRP’s price?

Ripple’s victory in its multi-year legal battle with the U.S. SEC removed what had been the single largest regulatory risk hanging over XRP — the possibility of being classified as an unregistered security in the United States. This legal clarity has allowed XRP to be freely traded on U.S. exchanges, listed in regulated ETF products, and accumulated by institutional investors without regulatory compliance concerns, dramatically improving its investability profile.

What is the connection between XRP and cross-border payments?

XRP serves as the native asset of the XRP Ledger and is used by Ripple’s On-Demand Liquidity (ODL) service as a bridge currency for international money transfers. Rather than requiring banks and payment providers to hold pre-funded accounts in destination currencies, ODL uses XRP to facilitate near-instant cross-border transactions, reducing costs and capital requirements. This real-world utility provides XRP with a use case that goes beyond pure speculation.