Bitwise XRP ETF Launch Draws Millions Amid Market Volatility

Highlights:

• Bitwise XRP ETF saw nearly $22 million in first-day trading volume.
• The Bitwise XRP ETF’s debut is the third-largest ETF launch of 2025.
• The ETF is the second U.S. spot XRP product after Canary’s XRPC.

The latest crypto product from Bitwise made headlines after its debut in the market. The Bitwise XRP ETF was introduced on Thursday at NYSE Arca with a ticker of “XRP.” The first session was characterized by considerable activity, despite the broader crypto market experiencing turbulence.

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The ETF recorded a nearly $26 million volume by the end of the trading day. It marked one of the best opening days among more than 900 ETFs launched in 2025. The debut was only a week after the Canary Capital’s XRPC was launched with record demand.

Bitwise XRP ETF Makes Strong Entry into the Market

On the launch day, the Bitwise XRP ETF had a total trading volume of $25.9 million. Bloomberg analyst James Seyffart noted that the fund had nearly hit $22 million with over three hours to go in the session. Additionally, the market had over 1.1 million shares trading by the close of the day.

With a bit over ~3 hours left in trading @Bitwise's $XRP is almost at $22 million in trading today. Quite impressive for the second product to market a full week after @CanaryFunds' $XRPC which is the #1 launch by volume this year. https://t.co/muMjHEQ6gt pic.twitter.com/lGxRMn51Rw

— James Seyffart (@JSeyff) November 20, 2025

Although the ETF lagged behind Canary’s XRPC and the Bitwise Solana fund, it was still the largest debut of the year. Furthermore, it happened during a week when Bitcoin fell to its lowest point in seven months and altcoins plummeted.

However, the momentum of the fund remained high. SoSoValue data reported inflows exceeding $105 million during the early trading. This made it clear that there is a high XRP exposure demand by investors even in a turbulent market. Bitwise waived its 0.34% management fee during the initial month on the first 500 million of assets. This move consequently aimed to attract early investors in a short time and to facilitate robust market penetration.

Growing Competition Among XRP Spot ETFs

The Bitwise XRP ETF comes after Canary Capital’s XRPC, which was launched only one week ago. That fund set a precedent, drawing in more than $59 million in volume on the first day and $305 million in inflows to date.

The competition is likely to increase with Franklin Templeton and Grayscale about to launch their own spot XRP products. They are to be launched on November 24. Grayscale also plans to launch an ETF on Dogecoin on the same day.

The increase in the number of altcoin ETFs indicates the broader institutional activity. These products offer simpler access to crypto without direct ownership. Since October, Solana ETFs have been at the forefront with inflows of $476 million.

Ticker Choice Sparks Community Reactions

The official ticker of the ETF, dubbed XRP, generated controversy in the crypto community. Traditionally, issuers add their brand name or unique identifiers. There is a fear of confusion between the token XRP and the ETF.

I still wonder how you guys were able to choose "XRP" to be your official ticker. 😅

Now we will need to write explainers to differentiate between XRP, the asset, and XRP the Bitwise ETF. 😆

— Krippenreiter (@krippenreiter) November 19, 2025

Bitwise CIO Matt Hougan, however, explained that the decision was planned. He pointed to the long history of operation, low transaction cost, and scalability of XRP as the main factors behind the creation of the ETF.

In addition, Ripple CEO Brad Garlinghouse embraced the launch, referring to it as an “XRP pre-Thanksgiving turkey trot.” Bitwise described the launch as a historic milestone for crypto ETFs in the U.S. Meanwhile, XRP has dropped below the $2 mark as the bears continue to dominate. The altcoin has a market cap and trading volume stand at $115 billion and $9.8 billion, respectively.

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