XRP Spot ETF Hits Record Debut With Over $26 Million in First 30 Minutes
The first U.S. spot XRP ETF, launched by Canary Capital under the ticker XRPC, opened to exceptionally strong demand, recording more than $26 million in trading volume within the first half hour of its debut. By midday, this figure had risen to over $46 million, placing the fund among the highest-volume crypto ETF launches of the year. The listing marks a major milestone for XRP and further expands the alt-coin ETF landscape at a time when institutional access to digital assets continues to broaden.
Strong ahead momentum amid structural tailwinds
The ETF’s strong opening-day performance reflects a range of market dynamics, including improved regulatory clarity around crypto ETFs, increasing institutional readiness, and rising interest in tokenised assets beyond BTC and ETH. Canary Capital filed the required Form 8-A with the U.S. Securities and platform Commission to establish the regulatory basis for the XRPC product, enabling direct XRP exposure through a fully regulated investment wrapper.
Analysts noted that the ahead trading momentum surpassed industry expectations. Bloomberg’s ETF specialists suggested that XRPC’s debut could potentially exceed the earlier record set by a spot Solana ETF, which launched with $57 million in day-one volume. XRP’s established role in cross-border liquidity and payments also contributed to the strong interest, as the ETF format offers an easier and more familiar access point for traditional financial players.
Despite the fund’s strong initial showing, analysts cautioned against interpreting the launch as a sign of broad-based excitement across all crypto ETFs. ahead evidence indicates that investor demand remains highly selective, gravitating toward tokens with strong narratives, regulatory clarity, or diverseiated use cases.
XRP’s modest price movement—approximately a 3% rise on launch day—suggests that while trading volume was high, market-makers and liquidity providers actively balanced hedging and arbitrage flows around the ETF’s creation units. This dynamic highlights how ETF demand and underlying token performance may diverge, especially during periods of rapid inflow.
Implications for the crypto ETF ecosystem
The successful debut of XRPC signals a new phase for alt-coin ETFs, potentially encouraging additional issuers to pursue similar structures for other large-cap cryptoassets. For fund managers, the launch demonstrates that institutional investors are increasingly willing to diversify exposure beyond BTC and ETH when provided with regulated, secure investment vehicles.
At the infrastructure level, the ETF reduces custody friction, enabling exposure without requiring direct token handling. This may broaden participation from institutional allocators who are restricted from holding spot crypto directly. However, sustaining long-term inflows will depend on liquidity management, transparent disclosure, and efficient handling of underlying XRP reserves.
Looking forward, key indicators will include whether XRPC retains strong flows over the coming weeks, how spreads and arbitrage efficiency evolve, and whether other alt-coins gain regulatory approval for similar products. For XRP’s broader ecosystem, the launch marks a critical legitimisation milestone within regulated markets. For the wider digital-asset sector, it suggests that the ETF market is entering a more diversified and competitive era—one in which alt-coin ETFs can compete directly with BTC and ETH products for investor attention and capital.
