The Bitwise XRP exchange-traded fund made a strong debut with significant first-day volume.
Summary
- Bitwise XRP ETF posts ~$25M first-day volume on NYSE debut.
- Fund is backed by actual XRP held in Coinbase custody.
- XRP trades at $1.92 with on-chain losses at the highest since April 2025.
The Bitwise XRP ETF (ticker: XRP) began trading on the New York Stock Exchange on Nov.20, giving U.S. investors a way to own XRP without holding the token themselves.
On its first day, 1.14 million shares were traded at an average price of $22, adding up to about $25 million in volume, as per data from NYSE. While early projections suggested first-day volume could surpass $90 million, the ongoing market pressure tempered final results.
The ETF is physically backed with spot XRP (XRP) held in custody by Coinbase. To lower the risk of manipulation, it compares its net asset value to the CME CF XRP-Dollar Reference Rate – New York Variant, which aggregates trading from several exchanges.
In an effort to draw in early investors, Bitwise is waiving its 0.34% management fee for the first month on $500 million in assets under management. The fund is part of Bitwise’s suite of more than 40 crypto products, building on its European XRP exchange-traded product launched in 2022.
Ripple community support and market interest
The launch received attention from Ripple executives. Chief executive officer Brad Garlinghouse called it a “pre-Thanksgiving rush” for XRP ETFs and noted XRP’s role in cross-border payments.
Bitwise hosted a live discussion with Ripple CTO David Schwartz, Bitwise CIO Matt Hougan, and journalist Eleanor Terrett. They discussed XRP’s journey, regulatory updates after the Securities and Exchange Commission settlement, and what it could mean for investors.
The Bitwise launch follows Canary Capital’s XRPC ETF, which was the top-performing ETF debut of the year with $58 million in first-day volume.
Additional U.S. spot XRP ETFs are expected to launch over the coming weeks, including offerings from Grayscale, Franklin Templeton, 21Shares, CoinShares, and WisdomTree. By the end of 2025, industry estimates indicate that these launches could bring in $5–8 billion.
XRP price update
As of the time of writing, XRP was down roughly 10% over the previous day, trading at $1.92. According to Glassnode’s on-chain data, XRP’s realized losses have significantly increased over the past month, averaging about $75 million per day.
This is the highest level since April 2025 and indicates that a large number of investors are closing positions at a loss. Investors are keeping a close eye on both price action and the flow of incoming ETFs as the market waits for the next move.
