XRP Is Making a Move to Challenge Ethereum's Spot Next to Bitcoin

Here's the thing about crypto – it is never boring. Last week, digital asset investment products pulled in 527 million inflows, but it was not all that smooth.

Crypto had a bumpy ride last week, with digital asset investment products raking in a total of $527 million in inflows.

Bitcoin led the pack with a massive $486 million inflows, according to CoinShares. Short Bitcoin products also saw another week of inflows, adding on $3.7 million to the tally.

But the surprising star of the show was XRP, clocking in 15 million in inflows last week, as part of a larger sum of 105 million year-to-date. This puts XRP in second place among altcoins, trailing only behind Ethereum.

Speaking of which, Ethereum's had a bit of a rough patch. Despite a total of $177 million inflows this year, it ended last week with net zero flows. It took a hit earlier in the week, likely due to its links to the tech sector, which took a hit after Nvidia's stumble. Add in some internal drama and a fair bit of skepticism from its own community, and Ethereum is looking a little shaky.

Meanwhile, XRP has been quietly building momentum. A lot of that is down to Ripple, which has been making some big moves in cross-border payments. It's not just a crypto thing anymore – Ripple has its fingers in the broader financial market, backed by a solid network of institutional partners. And let's not forget the "Made in America" label, which might just give XRP an edge as regulations and tax rules keep changing.

Oh, and XRP is doing all this without an ETF. That's right, no exchange-traded fund, no problem. But the rumors of an XRP ETF are getting louder, and it feels like it is more a question of "when" than "if." If that happens, expect even more money to flow in. Could XRP eventually challenge Ethereum's spot next to Bitcoin? Maybe.