Key Highlights
- Bank of America bought 13,000 shares of the XRP ETF, worth about $224,640.
- US-listed XRP ETFs are seeing steady inflows, with $19.46 million added recently, despite XRP trading under $1.60.
- XRP futures open interest fell more than 7% to $2.65 billion, while futures trading volume rose 72% to $6.98 billion.
Bank of America (BofA) has disclosed direct exposure to XRP through an exchange-traded fund (ETF), according to a recent filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).
The filing dated February 3 shows the bank holds 13,000 shares of the Volatility Shares XRP ETF, worth approximately $224,640.
This disclosure suggests BofA is expanding its involvement with XRP beyond its long-standing work with Ripple on payment technology. Ripple has been working with financial institutions on cross-border payments, which are transactions that send money between countries.
Separately, Ripple President Monica Long previously said the Bank of America CEO indicated the bank is “all in on XRP,” especially in areas like cross-border payments and Ripple’s planned RLUSD stablecoin.
XRP ETFs record inflow despite price drop
Meanwhile, US-listed spot XRP ETFs continue to see steady demand from institutions, even though XRP’s price remains under pressure. On Tuesday, spot XRP ETFs recorded $19.46 million in net inflows.
Franklin’s XRPZ led with $12.13 million, followed by the Bitwise XRP ETF with $4.82 million. Grayscale recorded about $2,51 million in inflows, while Canary and 21 shares stayed dormant. In short, investors are still adding exposure, possibly viewing the current price drop as an opportunity to buy more.
XRP drops 18% in a week
XRP’s price has dropped about 2.56% in the last 24 hours. Currently, the token is trading for $1.56, down from an intraday high of $1.63. Meanwhile, trading activity is up 46% to $4.18 billion in 24 hours. However, with the price drop, this suggests this activity could be more of traders dropping their positions.
The token has lost about 18% in a week due to the overall market crash, which saw Bitcoin dip from $80,000 to below $75,000.
As a result of the drop, about $9.16 million was wiped out from the market in 24 hours. According to data from Coinglass, $7 million from the total came from traders who had long positions, while $2.13 million came from traders who had placed their bets on the prices going down.
Derivatives data is also in the mix as the token’s future open interest declined more than 7% to $2.65 billion in 24 hours, while future trading volume is up by 72% to $6.98 billion. This means some traders are being cautious of the market at the moment, while some traders are still actively buying and selling the token.
Broader context
Bank of America’s disclosure is a plus for the crypto space, as it shows that large, traditional banks are taking digital assets seriously and exploring ways to include them in their regulated offerings.
Even though the 13,000 shares amount is small compared to Bank of America’s full portfolio, the decision is still important as it’s a step toward direct market exposure through a traditional investment structure.
Also Read: First Modular XRP Lending Goes Live as Morpho, Mystic Launch on Flare
