Nearly $750 million withdrawn! Bitcoin and Ethereum ETFs face cooling, while XRP ETF weekly trading volume hits a new high of $219 million

Last week, the US cryptocurrency ETF market showed a clear divergence. According to SoSoValue data, in the first full trading week of 2026 (January 5 to January 9), the emerging XRP ETF continued its net capital inflow trend, attracting $38.1 million in new funds and reaching a weekly trading volume of $219 million, a new all-time high.

In contrast, during the same period, spot Bitcoin ETFs experienced a net outflow of $681 million, and spot Ethereum ETFs recorded a net outflow of $68.6 million, totaling a combined outflow of $749.6 million.

Market Divergence: XRP ETF Defies the Trend

While Bitcoin and Ethereum ETF markets faced a cold spell, the XRP ETF performed remarkably well. This divergence suggests that institutional investors may be shifting their focus toward specific alternative cryptocurrencies. According to SoSoValue data, last week, the total trading volume of XRP ETFs reached $219 million, nearly doubling the $117.4 million from the previous week and slightly surpassing the record of $213.9 million set during the week of December 19, 2025.

Although on January 7, XRP ETF experienced its first single-day net outflow since listing of $40.8 million, the overall net inflow for the week still reached $38.1 million, bringing the total net inflow since its mid-November 2025 listing to $1.22 billion.

As of January 9, the total net assets of five spot XRP ETFs reached $1.47 billion, accounting for approximately 1.16% of XRP’s total market cap. Canary Capital’s XRPC leads with $375.1 million in assets under management.

Weak Performance: Bitcoin ETF Faces Major Capital Outflows

In stark contrast to XRP’s strong performance, Bitcoin ETFs experienced significant outflows at the start of the year. From January 6 to January 9, Bitcoin ETFs saw four consecutive days of net outflows, with a total weekly outflow of $681 million. The most notable day was January 7, with a single-day net outflow of $486.1 million, the largest outflow of the week. Specifically, industry leader BlackRock’s IBIT fund saw a $252 million outflow on January 9 alone.

Despite this wave of outflows, the total net assets of 12 spot Bitcoin ETFs remained high at $116.9 billion, representing about 6.48% of Bitcoin’s total market cap. Since their January 2024 launch, these funds have accumulated net inflows of $56.4 billion.

Meanwhile, Bitcoin’s price broke above $91,000 on January 12, rising slightly by 0.17% on that day. This divergence between price and ETF capital flows may reflect a complex market dynamic involving short-term profit-taking and long-term bullish expectations.

Market Context: “Waiting Mode” Under Macro Uncertainty

The overall cryptocurrency market remains in a wait-and-see stance. After a brief rally at the start of the year, Bitcoin’s price has been consolidating around $90,000, struggling to break through the $95,000 resistance level. Market analysts view this sideways movement as a “healthy consolidation.” Brian Vieten, senior research analyst at Siebert Financial for digital assets and blockchain, stated: “After a prolonged sell-off driven by concerns over tax-loss harvesting and MSCI potentially removing digital asset companies from its indices, Bitcoin is now consolidating around $90,000.”

Macro-level uncertainties also exert pressure on the market. Stronger economic data reduce expectations of further Federal Reserve rate cuts, putting short-term downward pressure on risk assets like Bitcoin. James Butterfill, head of research at CoinShares, noted: “Macro data generally exceeds expectations. This somewhat reduces the likelihood of rate cuts in March, creating short-term downward pressure on prices.”

Additionally, political and regulatory uncertainties persist. Developments in Washington’s tariff policies, the future leadership of the Federal Reserve, and cryptocurrency regulation are closely watched.

Ethereum Dynamics: From Inflows to Net Outflows

The Ethereum ETF market has also experienced a similar shift. On January 5 and 6, spot Ethereum ETFs recorded strong inflows of $168.1 million and $114.7 million, respectively, but these gains were fully offset by a combined net outflow of $351.4 million over the following three days. Ultimately, nine spot Ethereum ETFs experienced a net outflow of $68.6 million last week. As of January 9, the total net assets of these funds stood at $18.7 billion, about 5.04% of Ethereum’s total market cap.

Notably, on January 9, BlackRock’s ETHA fund saw an outflow of $83.8 million, while Grayscale’s ETHE fund experienced a $10 million outflow.

In this context, blockchain data shows that a large Ethereum holder recently transferred their remaining 26,000 ETH (worth approximately $80.88 million) to an exchange, completing a full liquidation. Over the past five years, this investor held a total of 101,000 ETH, with an average purchase cost of about $660 per ETH, and the recent sale was at an average price of approximately $3,313.

Price References and Outlook

As of January 12, 2026, Bitcoin’s price was approximately $92,128. During January 1 to 12, 2026, XRP traded between $1.8770 and $2.3556, with an average of about $2.1344.

Market consensus generally believes that despite short-term capital outflows, Bitcoin’s long-term prospects remain optimistic. Butterfill predicts that by the end of 2026, Bitcoin could reach $200,000. For XRP, its ETF’s continued strong performance may signal positive structural changes in the market. New capital flowing into XRP via ETF channels continues to set trading volume records even amid waning overall interest in crypto ETFs, highlighting the asset’s unique appeal.

At the time of writing, Bitcoin spot ETFs have accumulated a total net asset value of $116.9 billion, representing 6.48% of its market cap; Ethereum spot ETFs hold $18.7 billion, about 5.04% of its market cap. XRP ETFs have grown to $1.47 billion, about 1.16% of XRP’s total market cap, with this ratio steadily increasing as funds flow in. The divergence in capital flows reveals that institutional investors are increasingly diversifying their allocations across different cryptocurrencies.