Bullish forecasts for ETF-led demand growth clash with warnings that many products may struggle to attract lasting assets.
U.S. spot crypto ETF flows, stablecoin supply, prediction markets, perp DEX activity, and the DAT craze were among the data trends of 2025.
Investor Paul Barron’s hint at “big news” has reignited attention on XRP exchange-traded funds this week, sending the community into speculation over possible upcoming announcements or launches. Related Reading: Crypto Heat Fizzling Out? US Search Interest Plunges As Retail Shy Away Traders and holders reacted fast on social channels, pushing chatter and price focus higher even as specifics remain unclear. ETF Flows Heat Up According to data shared by Nate Geraci, President of NovaDius Wealth, Bitcoin and Ethereum ETFs dominated year-to-date inflows. BlackRock’s IBIT Bitcoin ETF led with $25 billion in inflows. Grayscale’s Bitcoin Mini Trust ETF followed at $1.11 billion. Fidelity and VanEck posted $477 million and $305 million respectively. On the Ethereum side, BlackRock’s offerings recorded about $9.12 billion. A Solana staking ETF from Bitwise pulled in $839 million. These numbers show where most large investors are putting money right now. Expect some big news this week $XRP ETFs https://t.co/3BY5XJosPx — PaulBarron (@paulbarron) December 29, 2025 Community Reaction And Speculation Barron’s remark has been read by many as a hint at another XRP-related announcement. Some expect a new ETF launch; others are watching for updates from issuers already in the market. That talk has helped push attention — and inflows — to XRP products that only debuted late in the year. XRP Ledger Tokenization Surge Based on reports from rwa.xyz, on-chain data indicates tokenized real-world assets on the XRP Ledger rose by 2,200% in 2025. The network saw about 23x growth in the value of native real-world assets, including stablecoins, and crossed the $500 million threshold. Themes around RWA tokenization were widely discussed this year by figures such as BlackRock CEO Larry Fink and former SEC Chair Paul Atkins, and the XRPL appears to be drawing benefit from that interest. XRP ETFs Show Early Strength Canary’s XRP ETF (XRPC) registered $384 million in year-to-date inflows after launching in November. Other XRP spot funds have built sizable holdings too: 21Shares holds about $250 million, Bitwise roughly $227 million, Grayscale around $244 million, and Franklin about $206 million. Based on reports, all of these XRP spot ETFs launched in November and December and now tally roughly $1.24 billion in total assets under management with cumulative inflows near $1.14 billion. For a new category, that level of money moving in over a short span is notable; some industry voices point out the total might have been higher if market mood had not cooled recently. Reports also say XRP ETFs pulled in over $1 billion through 21 days of steady inflows. Pending Products And Rumors WisdomTree’s XRP ETF is among the pending offerings that market watchers expect to arrive next. At the same time, talk about a BlackRock XRP ETF has circulated widely. There is currently no public filing tied to a BlackRock XRP product, and reports caution that such expectations are premature without official filings or approvals. Related Reading: Bitcoin Rules The Decade: Outshines Gold And Silver, Analyst Says Current flows note that XRP’s ETF debut has shifted part of investor focus from pure crypto bets to spot ETF allocations and tokenization themes. Whether Barron’s hinted “big news” becomes a concrete catalyst will depend on filings and formal product launches. For now, the mix of solid early inflows and rapid XRPL tokenization growth has put XRP squarely in the conversation among ETF-focused investors and network adopters. Featured image from Unsplash, chart from TradingView
BlackRock has transferred a significant amount of BTC to the crypto exchange Coinbase, sparking concerns about a sell-off. This comes as the Bitcoin price continues to struggle to break above $90,000 successfully. Bitcoin Price At Risk as BlackRock Transfers BTC Arkham data shows that Blackrock deposited 2,201 BTC ($192.13 million) into Coinbase, putting the Bitcoin price at risk of further decline amid increasing selling pressure. The move followed the outflow recorded by BlackRock’s BTC ETF on December 26, with Bitcoin funds as a group seeing a net outflow of $275.88 million. Related Reading: Bitcoin News: Here’s How Much Was Liquidated In The Crypto Market In 2025 These Bitcoin ETFs are currently on a seven-day outflow streak, which also prompted BlackRock to deposit 6,174.39 BTC last week, likely to offload these coins and redeem shares of its BTC fund. The Bitcoin price has struggled to break above $90,000 amid these outflows from the BTC funds. Notably, the Bitcoin price had broken above $90,000 on December 28 but quickly lost those gains yesterday as BlackRock moved the coins to Coinbase. Crypto pundit Martini claimed that BlackRock wasn’t the only one putting significant selling pressure on the flagship crypto. He alleged that Binance, Wintermute, Coinbase, and Fidelity also sold a significant amount of BTC, collectively dumping $3.5 billion yesterday. Crypto pundit Bull Theory claimed that there was a weekend manipulation as the Bitcoin price pumped $3,000 and broke $90,000, liquidating $103 million worth of shorts this Sunday. He then noted that on Monday morning, BTC dumped $2,700 and liquidated $40 million worth of longs, erasing its entire pump in the process. With the current price action, BTC is heading for a red yearly close, as it is currently down over 6% year-to-date (YTD). BTC Could Bottom Out Soon Against Other Major Assets In an X post, crypto analyst Kevin Capital stated that most of the data continues to become more favorable for the Bitcoin price, putting in a bottom against the equity markets and gold in the coming weeks. He added that the data also points to the flagship crypto outperforming these assets. The analyst stated that this was based on just factual data and not emotions. Related Reading: Bitcoin Has Entered A Bear Market, And This Data Backs It Up The Bitcoin price had notably outperformed these major assets at the start of the year but has since fallen behind, following the October 10 crypto crash. Gold is up 66% year-to-date while the S&P 500 is up 17% since the start of the year. Crypto analyst Ted Pillows also predicted that BTC could soon rally, noting that the long-term holders have stopped selling for the first time since July 2025. At the time of writing, the Bitcoin price is trading at around $87,300, down over 3% in the last 24 hours, according to data from CoinMarketCap. Featured image from Pixabay, chart from Tradingview.com
If 2024 was the year of the crypto reawakening, 2025 was the year the plumbing finally got permitted. This year, the emerging industry entered January with tentative optimism and exited December with federal statutes. As a result, the narrative shifted definitively from “crypto as a casino” to “crypto as capital markets infrastructure.” During this period, […]
The post The top 12 crypto winners of 2025: who got it right this year? appeared first on CryptoSlate.
After years of compression, XRP is quietly approaching a moment where the market will see a true structural break. This breakout is about a high-timeframe setup where market structure is on the verge of shifting. It is also the potential resolution of a multi-year structure that has compressed prices, absorbed supply, and conditioned participants to underestimate what comes next. Why Volatility Has Collapsed Ahead Of Expansion At the least expected time, XRP will print a legendary candle that will set a structural foundation and never move down. A crypto investor known as 24HRSCRYPTO noted on X that this move that is coming won’t be powered by retail hype, but by real economic activity on the XRP Ledger. When the altcoin begins to function as a settlement asset, volatility will become a liability, rather than a feature. Related Reading: Banks Could Favor A Higher XRP Price, Finance Expert Says Additionally, the payment rails, liquidity provisioning, and institutional settlement system will require price stability. A bridge asset referred to as a vehicle currency cannot swing 30-40% and still clear trillions in value. As volume and utility increase, XRP begins to transition from a speculative instrument into market infrastructure. Liquidity depth would be key to absorb shocks, while the price becomes anchored by demand. This is why the first candle isn’t a top, but the market repricing XRP’s role from a tradeable asset into a financial primitive. With new initiatives, XRP’s adoption is set to increase. Analyst X Finance Bull has revealed that RLUSD is the first US trust-regulated stablecoin launched by Ripple, issued natively on the XRP Ledger and extending across Ethereum Virtual Machine (EVM) chains for broader institutional access. Any banks that would integrate with RLUSD will be automatically onboarded into the XRP rails. This isn’t just about stable payments, but about demand generation for the altcoin as the default bridge asset. From BlackRock funds flow to global repo markets, that’s where the real volume begins to flow. This flips the game, allowing RLUSD to provide the liquidity, while XRP captures the movement. Why XRPL Meets Institutional Due Diligence Standards For the first time, XRP Ledger has now processed over 4 billion transactions since its launch in 2012. Co-founder of Tedlabsio, a crypto trader and investor, Niels, has pointed out that the real-world usage across the network has sustained more than 13 years of uninterrupted operation. Related Reading: Here’s How Many Transactions XRP Must Process To Reach A $2,000 Price Tag The XRPL consistently handles around 1.5 million transactions per day, with regular peaks exceeding 5 million, and settles in 3 to 5 seconds. All of this happens at fractions of a cent per transaction. Over time, more than 13 million XRP have been burned in transaction fees, a metric that reflects continuous demand in network activity. This is why institutions pay attention to XRPL. Featured image from Pixabay, chart from Tradingview.com
The world's largest asset manager is promoting its underperforming bitcoin fund over higher-fee winners, signaling long-term commitment.
U.S. bitcoin ETF AUM fell less than 4% despite a 36% price correction from the October high.
The Bitcoin and Ethereum prices are down today as the crypto market remains in a phase of extreme fear. This latest crash came amid BlackRock’s move, which sparked fear of a sell-off from the world’s largest asset manager. The Bitcoin and Ethereum prices are down today following BlackRock’s transfer of 2,257 BTC and 74,973 ETH to Coinbase, indicating plans to offload these coins. Notably, the BTC and ETH ETFs recorded outflows on December 16, likely why the asset manager moved these coins to redeem shares for its IBIT and ETHA ETFs, which were sold that day. Bitcoin and Ethereum Prices Decline Amid BlackRock’s Transfer These Bitcoin and Ethereum ETFs have continued to record mixed flows, which have partly contributed to declines in BTC and ETH prices. Notably, the Bitcoin price had surged to around $90,000 yesterday from an intraday low of around $87,000, before retracing below $87,000 about an hour later. This immediately sparked theories of manipulation, with some crypto pundits revealing that BlackRock wasn’t the only one selling. Related Reading: The Bearish Structure That Puts Bitcoin Price At $92,550, And Then $82,000 Crypto pundit Kruse claimed that Binance first bought nonstop for over 30 minutes to pump the price, then started dumping millions of BTC and ETH to liquidate longs. He noted that the Bitcoin price pumped about $3,300 in 30 minutes, with $106 million in shorts wiped out during that period. Following that, BTC printed another volatile hourly candle to the downside, which flushed out $52 million in longs. A similar price action had also played out for the Ethereum price. Kruse declared that this wasn’t random volatility but rather liquidity hunting. The pundit further warned that this is how leverage gets punished in crypto. He then reiterated that the volatile Bitcoin and Ethereum price actions weren’t random, indicating the market is being manipulated. Onchain Sleuth Tracer also accused Binance of being responsible for the Bitcoin and Ethereum price declines. He claimed that the crypto exchange pumped and dumped millions of BTC to liquidate traders, with $194 million in shorts and longs liquidated in one hour. BTC And ETH To Hit New All-Time Highs Next Year? Crypto asset manager Bitwise has predicted that the Bitcoin price will break the four-year cycle and set new all-time highs in 2026. The asset manager alluded to factors such as the Bitcoin halving and interest rate cycles as what will drive this rally for the flagship crypto. The firm also remarked that crypto booms and busts fueled by leverage are weaker than in past cycles. Related Reading: Ethereum 2-Year Trend Maps Out This Unique Crash Path To Bottom At $2,187 Bitwise also stated that institutions are likely to allocate more to Bitcoin ETFs, which is why they expect the Bitcoin price to reach new all-time highs next year. Furthermore, the firm noted that the pro-crypto regulatory shift will continue to allow companies to adopt crypto at a faster rate. The crypto asset manager also predicted that the Ethereum price could reach a new all-time high if the CLARITY Act passes. Featured image from iStock, chart from Tradingview.com
The $10 trillion asset manager is staffing up to scale digital asset ETFs, pursue tokenization and identify "first-mover big bets" in Asia.
It marks the third consecutive week of inflows, reflecting a cautious yet optimistic investor base, Head of Research James Butterfill said.
The following article is adapted from The Block’s newsletter, The Daily, which comes out on weekday afternoons.
BlackRock is seeking the Securities and Exchange Commission's sign-off for a staked Ethereum exchange-traded fund.
The iShares Ethereum Staking Trust marks a bold push into on-chain yield exposure, as the SEC's tone has shifted under new leadership.
The following article is adapted from The Block’s newsletter, The Daily, which comes out on weekday afternoons.
The world’s largest asset manager released its AI report with a bearish outlook on U.S. bonds and the country’s economy, and presented a bullish projection for crypto adoption.
IBIT options are the ninth largest in the U.S.
The following article is adapted from The Block’s newsletter, The Daily, which comes out on weekday afternoons.
The executives pointed to a 300% surge in real-world asset tokenization over 20 months as evidence that the shift is already accelerating.
US-listed Bitcoin ETFs capped their second-heaviest month of redemptions with a rare late-month shift back into positive flows. According to SoSo Value data, the 12 US-listed spot Bitcoin funds recorded net creation of roughly $70 million in the final days of November, after four weeks of relentless selling pressure that totalled more than $4.3 billion […]
The post Bitcoin ETFs end brutal November with a late $70M inflow appeared first on CryptoSlate.
Spot Bitcoin ETFs (exchange-traded funds) are one of the biggest narratives and have been a game-changer in the cryptocurrency space in the past two years. With these investment products, people get to participate in the cryptocurrency market without having to directly own the digital assets. Interestingly, one of the biggest winners—that often gets overlooked—has been the issuers, especially as the crypto industry has seen increased institutional adoption since the Bitcoin ETFs launched. According to the firm’s executive, the BTC exchange-traded funds becoming the major source of revenue for BlackRock, the world’s largest asset manager, was not envisioned. BlackRock’s Bitcoin Funds Outweighing Expectations At the Blockchain Conference 2025 in São Paulo on Friday, November 28, BlackRock’s business development director in Brazil, Cristiano Castro, told reporters that the Bitcoin ETFs are the largest revenue source for their company. According to the executive, this development came as a “big surprise” to the asset management firm. Related Reading: Fed To End QT In December: Will Bitcoin Mirror The Massive Price Crash From Last Time? Castro said in a statement: We were very optimistic when we launched, but we didn’t believe it would reach such proportions. Just to give you an idea, it [IBIT in the US and IBIT39 in Brazil – the asset’s reference names] came very close to US$100 billion [in allocation]. This feat is notable for the Bitcoin ETFs, especially considering that BlackRock offers more than 1,400 exchange-traded products globally and has a whopping $13.4 trillion in assets under management. The US-based Bitcoin fund (with the IBIT ticker) has over $70.7 billion in net assets, becoming the first ETF to reach the $70-billion mark (doing so in June 2025). While the US Bitcoin ETF market has somewhat slowed down, BlackRock’s IBIT still continues to outpace other ETFs launched in recent years. As earlier reports suggested, IBIT had managed to generate roughly $245 million in annual fees as of October 2025. Bitcoin ETF Outflows ‘Perfectly Normal’ – Castro When asked about the recent outflows from BlackRock’s Bitcoin ETF as the market leader’s value fell, the director stated that there are zero surprises in that trend. “ETFs are very liquid and powerful instruments, and they serve precisely to allow people to allocate their capital and manage their cash flow,” Castro noted. The BlackRock director said that the withdrawals are expected, considering that the product is heavily owned by retail investors, who are reactionary in nature to price corrections. On Friday, the iShares Bitcoin Trust saw a net outflow of $113.72 million, bringing the weekly record to a negative $137.01 million and the fund to its fifth-consecutive week of withdrawals. Related Reading: The Bitcoin Price Crash To $41,000: There’s A Shark In The Water Featured image from Getty Images, chart from TradingView
The firm's US-listed spot bitcoin ETF IBIT, launched in January 2024, reached $70 billion in assets in record time and has generated hundreds of millions in fees.
Strategic Income Opportunities Portfolio expands its allocation to the iShares Bitcoin Trust amid rising institutional demand.
On Nov. 26, Nasdaq’s International Securities Exchange quietly triggered one of the most important developments in Bitcoin’s financial integration. The trading platform asked the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) to raise the position limit on BlackRock’s iShares Bitcoin Trust (IBIT) options from 250,000 contracts to one million. On the surface, the proposal looks procedural. […]
The post BlackRock’s IBIT is graduating to mega-cap options — opening the door to bank-grade products in your brokerage appeared first on CryptoSlate.
As the cryptocurrency ecosystem matures and evolves, a new narrative is gaining traction that positions XRP for an upcoming institutional-driven surge that could redefine market expectations. With momentum building around XRP exchange-traded funds, one prominent analyst now believes the asset could be on the verge of a rally so large it may outperform Bitcoin’s own ETF-driven surge. Why Analysts Believe XRP Is Poised For A Larger Upside Than Bitcoin XRP is entering its ETF chapter, and the scale of what’s coming could make Bitcoin look small. Crypto analyst Xfinancebull mentioned on X that early players like Grayscale, Bitwise, Franklin, and Canary Funds are already live with their XRP products. Meanwhile, the real power players like BlackRock, Fidelity, and the other giants haven’t even filed for an XRP spot ETF yet, which shows this is just a warm-up. Related Reading: Here’s Why A Supply Shock Could Be Imminent For XRP The heavyweights haven’t even stepped into the arena, and the initial institutional capital is already flowing. Spot ETFs were highly beneficial for BTC, which triggered a trillion-dollar shockwave that attracted Wall Street institutions and momentum traders who couldn’t ignore the access. According to Xfinancebull, XRP is a different beast, with functional utility, real-world adoption, and banking infrastructure already built out across Japan and Asia. The capital that will soon flood into XRP via ETFs won’t just speculate, but it will stay. When a fraction of over $80 billion in Assets Under Management (AUM) from these initial titans begins to rotate into XRP, the inflows could be significant. This is cold, hard math that is about to unlock high levels of liquidity and historically repeat the move on a larger scale. “The XRP spot ETF ignition is not coming, but it is already here. If you missed the Bitcoin momentum move, don’t miss this one,” Xfinancebull noted. An analyst known as RipBullWinkle has also highlighted that Bitcoin has leaked $151 million, while XRP led all inflows with $164 million. That’s not random, it’s institutions reallocating with intention into assets built for settlement and speed. When powerhouses like Franklin Templeton and Grayscale pull over $130 million into XRP on day one, it confirms where the institutional smart money is going. Market Stabilization Signals The Start Of A New Upward Leg Bitcoin and altcoins are reacting sharply to momentary declines after the brief pullback. TerraHaberTr has stated that BTC has reclaimed the $87,000 level, and if momentum continues at this pace, BTC will target $90,000 and $100,000 levels. On the altcoin side, the recovery is happening even faster, and altcoins that have experienced deep dips may start to gain strength. Related Reading: XRP Price Will Climb Above $10 When This Happens: Analyst Meanwhile, XRP is gaining traction as it pushes back above $2.20. If the move continues, XRP could reach the $3.00 region. Overall, opportunities have continued to emerge across major altcoins. Featured image from iStock, chart from Tradingview.com
Filing comes amid rapid growth in IBIT options activity and a migration of open interest toward US regulated venues.
Texas has taken the first formal step toward becoming the first US state to hold Bitcoin as a strategic reserve asset. On Nov. 25, Lee Bratcher, president of the Texas Blockchain Council, reported that the world’s eighth-largest economy, valued at $2.7 trillion, purchased $5 million worth of BlackRock’s spot Bitcoin ETF, IBIT. He added that a […]
The post Why Texas is buying Bitcoin from BlackRock before building a real reserve appeared first on CryptoSlate.
Texas has moved public money into Bitcoin exposure, buying $5 million worth of shares in a regulated Bitcoin exchange-traded fund. Related Reading: Bitcoin Creator Somehow Becomes ‘Poor’ By Losing $41 Billion Without Saying A Word According to reports, the state’s purchase was made on November 20, 2025, and it used the BlackRock iShares Bitcoin Trust (IBIT) to gain price exposure without immediately holding the cryptocurrency itself. The state set aside a total allocation of $10 million for its new Strategic Bitcoin Reserve. Lee Bratcher, who leads the Texas Blockchain Council, confirmed the state’s crypto purchase on X. State Uses ETF As Interim Step Reports have disclosed that officials chose the ETF route as a temporary measure while the state puts custody plans in place. The IBIT shares give Texas a stake that tracks Bitcoin’s market moves. Based on reports, the entry price equated to roughly $87,000 per BTC at the time of the buy. The buy represents half of the total allocation, leaving $5 million still available for future moves. TEXAS BOUGHT THE DIP! Texas becomes the FIRST state to purchase Bitcoin with a $10M investment on Nov. 20th at an approximately $87k basis! Congratulations to Comptroller @KHancock4TX and the dedicated investments team at Texas Treasury who have been watching this market… pic.twitter.com/wsMqI9HrPD — Lee ₿ratcher (@lee_bratcher) November 25, 2025 The move follows legislation passed earlier in the year. According to public records, the reserve program was created by Senate Bill 21, signed in June 2025. The law authorizes a capped budget for the reserve and sets conditions for what assets qualify. Reports have disclosed that Bitcoin met the criteria laid out in the measure, prompting the initial allocation. What Officials Say And What Comes Next According to state officials, the purchase is meant as a hedge and a way to diversify long-term holdings. An RFP process is expected to pick a custodian, with officials planning to transfer from ETF positions to direct custody once systems are ready. The request for proposals is slated for early 2026, based on public statements. Analysts noted the distinction between ETF shares and direct ownership. ETF holdings provide price exposure; they do not give the state direct control over on-chain Bitcoin wallets. That control would come only after the state completes its custody procurement and shifts assets into cold storage or similar solutions. Possible Broader Effects Market observers say the purchase is notable because it marks one of the first instances of a US state formally placing public funds into Bitcoin exposure. The amount is small relative to broader markets, yet symbolic. It may prompt other states to consider similar reserve strategies, especially where lawmakers favor diversification. Related Reading: Hamas Victims Sue Binance And CZ — Accusations Of Terror Financing Rock Crypto World Transparency And Oversight According to public filings, the state will publish details of the holdings and any custody plan updates. Oversight mechanisms built into the law require regular reporting, and the remaining $5 million allocation must follow the same rules before it is used. That reporting will be watched closely by lawmakers, taxpayers, and market watchers. The buying decision was made amid wide debate over how government bodies should handle crypto assets. Texas plans to move carefully, using regulated products first and then moving toward self-custody when the proper safeguards and vendors are chosen. Featured image from Pexels, chart from TradingView
The four-week negative streak now totals $4.9 billion — the third largest since 2018, Head of Research James Butterfill said.
The following article is adapted from The Block’s newsletter, The Daily, which comes out on weekday afternoons.