Spot bitcoin ETFs see $195 million exit, largest daily outflow in 2 weeks

XRP fell to $2.08, down 4% in 24 hours, even though the broader Ripple ecosystem is posting some of its strongest institutional numbers in years. The drop comes at a time when traders are dealing with a mix of market mechanics, macro pressure, and technical weakness, all pulling the price lower.

One of the reasons for the drop was the expiry of more than $5.94 million worth of XRP options on December 5. The max pain price for these contracts was $2.15, which is higher than XRP’s close at $2.08.

When the price finishes below max pain, many traders sell to cut losses, adding fast downward pressure. The broader market also dragged XRP down, as the total crypto market cap fell 1.17%, and Bitcoin dominance rose to 58.68%, showing that money is moving away from altcoins like XRP.

Why the Drop Feels Odd Even With Strong Fundamentals

The decline feels odd because XRP’s fundamentals have been very strong. The first U.S.-listed XRP ETF, Canary XRPC, launched with a huge $58 million in day-one trading volume, the biggest ETF debut of the year. Its assets under management quickly jumped to $248 million, showing strong interest from big investors. 

Ripple’s new stablecoin, RLUSD, also crossed $1 billion in market cap, giving the XRP ecosystem more utility. XRP ETF holdings have now grown, bringing total institutional ETF exposure to $906.46 million.

XRP Price To Crash More?

Analyst Casi Trades said that XRP is heading toward an important support level at $2.04. It recently bounced a bit, showing some strength, but this level will decide if the price goes up or drops further. If XRP holds $2.04, buyers could push it higher. If it breaks, the price might fall to $1.64.

Changpeng Zhao (CZ) recently took to the X social media network to share a photo of himself with Michael Saylor on X shortly after their first in-person meeting at Binance Blockchain Week in Dubai.

The face-to-face meeting between the two crypto titans took place shortly after Saylor's presentation.

Saylor attended Binance Blockchain Week in Dubai as a keynote speaker. This is his first-ever speaking appearance at a crypto event in the UAE.

He delivered a major presentation titled "The Undeniable Case for Bitcoin. During the presentation, urging the audience not to fear market volatility, he pointed to Bitcoin's growing institutional and global adoption, and compared its trading power and energy consumption to giants like Google, Microsoft, and even the US Navy. Saylor also discussed MicroStrategy's ongoing Bitcoin strategy.

Following his keynote, he participated in a live community AMA session. The event also gave him the opportunity to finally meet CZ in person after years of online alignment.

Meanwhile, CZ and longtime gold advocate Peter Schiff had a fiery debate about Bitcoin, which has attracted plenty of attention on social media. 

Two crypto giants 

Both Saylor and CZ have been towering figures within the cryptocurrency community for years. 

Their connection traces back to the early 2020s, when both emerged as leading voices during Bitcoin's volatile cycles. CZ repeatedly voiced strong support for Saylor's aggressive accumulation strategy at Strategy (formerly MicroStrategy). When many questioned the wisdom of buying more amid plunging prices, CZ publicly defended Saylor.

Their messaging often overlapped on Bitcoin's scarcity, its superiority as a store of value over traditional assets like gold or fiat currencies, and its role in building a more trustworthy financial future. 

On social media, they would also amplify each other's posts.

This online camaraderie extended into real-world collaboration in 2025, when both were appointed as advisors to Pakistan's Crypto Council, working alongside each other to guide the nation's ambitious plans for a strategic Bitcoin reserve. 

Now, the two crypto titans have finally shared their first photo. 

US investors are not considering buying crypto as much as they used to, as risk-taking behavior has dropped, according to a study from the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA).

The percentage of crypto investors was unchanged between 2021 and 2024 at 27%, but the number of investors considering either purchasing more or buying for the first time dropped to 26% in 2024 from 33% in 2021, FINRA reported on Thursday.

The industry regulator found that those with “high levels of investment risk” dropped four percentage points to 8% between 2021 and 2024. The biggest drop was among investors under 35, which shaved nine percentage points to 15%.

December 5, 2025 06:48:15 UTC

XRPC overtakes XRP ETFs

XRPC has surpassed $336 million in assets, overtaking the combined size of every other U.S. spot XRP ETF, according to Canary Capital. Despite inflows into Franklin Templeton’s XRPZ ($10.68M) and Bitwise XRP ($2.93M), XRPC maintains a clear lead, showing concentrated investor demand. Canary Capital CEO McClurg notes this validates where capital is flowing—investors are not spreading funds across ETFs but backing XRPC as the primary choice. Momentum shows no signs of slowing.

December 5, 2025 06:21:34 UTC

XRP Becomes Core Holding in Franklin Templeton’s Multi-Coin ETF

Franklin Templeton has made XRP the 4th largest position in its multi-coin ETF, signaling major institutional confidence. Fund weightings reflect conviction, risk analysis, and long-term expectations—and XRP now ranks ahead of dozens of other blockchains in their internal models. The firm sees strong upside, lower structural risk, and real utility in future digital finance. This move shows institutions are shifting from hype to real-world use cases, with XRP emerging as a core allocation in professional portfolios.

December 5, 2025 06:14:47 UTC

Ripple Builds a One-Stop Global Finance Powerhouse with Major 2025 Acquisitions

Ripple has poured nearly $4B into expanding its crypto and payments ecosystem, making 2025 its boldest year yet. With major acquisitions—GTreasury, Rail, Palisade, and Ripple Prime—the company is building a unified, end-to-end infrastructure for real-time global value movement. From treasury intelligence and stablecoin payments to high-speed custody and institutional liquidity, Ripple is creating a complete payments stack that lets businesses move, manage and settle money instantly across traditional and digital assets.

December 5, 2025 06:14:47 UTC

XRP Ledger Velocity Hits Highest Level of the Year as On-Chain Activity Jumps

XRP Ledger’s Velocity metric surged to 0.0324 on December 2, marking its highest level of the year, according to CryptoQuant. This sharp rise shows XRP is moving rapidly across the network rather than sitting in cold wallets. Analyst CryptoOnchain says the spike reflects high liquidity, active trading, and increased whale movements. The surge in circulation signals strong on-chain activity and growing market participation around XRP.

December 5, 2025 06:10:42 UTC

XRP Price Fear Spikes to Highest Level Since October

XRP’s fear levels have surged to their highest point since October, according to Santiment. The last time sentiment was this bearish, XRP bounced back with a strong 22% rally in November. Analysts say the current spike in fear could signal another potential buying opportunity if history repeats. With traders turning cautious and sentiment hitting extremes, XRP may be setting up for its next move.

December 5, 2025 06:01:24 UTC

XRP Scores Historic Win with First CFTC-Regulated U.S. Spot Listing

XRP just secured its biggest regulatory breakthrough yet. Bitnomial has launched the first CFTC-regulated spot crypto exchange in the U.S., and XRP is listed from day one. This allows XRP to trade spot, futures, perps, and options under federal oversight. Even more, XRP is now approved as trading collateral, meaning traders can post it as margin like Treasuries or stablecoins. A massive legitimacy upgrade for XRP.

On-chain analytics firm Glassnode has pointed out how the current Bitcoin market is reminiscent to the structure from the first quarter of 2022.

Bitcoin Dynamics Are Currently Looking Similar To Early 2022 Bear Market

In its latest weekly report, Glassnode has discussed about how the broader Bitcoin market structure is starting to resemble Q1 2022. First, the analytics firm has shared the data of its Supply Quantiles Cost Basis Model, highlighting price levels that correspond to a certain degree of investor profitability.

In the chart, three supply quantiles are listed: 0.75, 0.85, and 0.95. If Bitcoin trades at the first of these levels, 75% of the supply will be in profit. Similarly, the latter two correspond to 85% and 95% profitability, respectively.

It’s visible in the graph that Bitcoin has recently fallen below all three of these levels, indicating more than 25% of the cryptocurrency’s supply is now underwater. “This creates a fragile balance between the risk of top-buyer capitulation and the potential for seller exhaustion to form a bottom,” explained Glassnode.

BTC similarly broke below the 0.75 quantile back during the sideways market of early 2022. Another indicator that reinforces the resemblance is the Total Supply in Loss, which measures, as its name suggests, the amount of the Bitcoin circulating supply that’s being held at some net unrealized loss.

Below is a chart showing the 7-day moving average (MA) trend in the metric.

As displayed in the graph, the 7-day MA Bitcoin Total Supply in Loss hit a high of 7.1 million BTC last week, which is the highest that it has been since September 2023, more than two years ago.

The analytics firm noted:

Finally, the Bitcoin long-term holder Spent Output Profit Ratio (SOPR) also implies that the current market structure is mirroring Q1 2022. This metric tells us, in short, whether the Bitcoin investors holding since more than 155 days ago are selling their coins at a profit or loss.

The Bitcoin long-term holder SOPR has witnessed a sharp decline recently, but its value is still above 1, indicating the long-term holders are selling at some net profit. With its current value of 1.43, however, there has been a notable shrinkage in the profit margins of the cohort.

It now remains to be seen whether the trends in these indicators mean that the cryptocurrency is on the cusp of a bear market transition like in early 2022, or if a rebound will come before long.

BTC Price

Bitcoin has seen a slight pullback during the past day as its price has dropped to $91,800.

Current market conditions will make it difficult for Bitcoin to replicate its early 2025 price gains going into 2026, says 21Shares co-founder Ophelia Snyder.

“It’s unlikely that the factors driving the current volatility will fully resolve in the short term,” Snyder told Cointelegraph.“A repeat performance next January will depend heavily on broader market sentiment.”

Snyder explained that January often sees “renewed inflows” into Bitcoin (BTC) exchange-traded funds as investors rebalance and reposition portfolios at the start of the year.

Downtrend isn’t “anything crypto specific”

Snyder said it is unclear how Bitcoin will perform in January, given the current low level of positive market sentiment.

Bitcoin reached a then-peak of $109,000 on Jan. 9, just one day before Donald Trump was set to be inaugurated, as traders bet his proposed plans for the crypto sector would spark a rally.