Bitcoin and Ether Soar Past Struggling XRP in 5-Week Surge

Bitcoin and Ether led the broader cryptocurrency market higher last week, while XRP (XRP) fell 5% as every other major cryptocurrency posted gains, with XRP ETF inflows slowing sharply even as the broader spot-fund market extended a five-week run. Bitcoin (BTC) crossed $65,000 on August 10 and Ethereum (ETH) climbed roughly 3% over the same period.

Key Takeaways

• Spot Bitcoin ETFs recorded $854 million in net inflows for the week ending August 10
• XRP fell 5% while Bitcoin, Ether, and BNB each gained nearly 3% on the week
• The CLARITY Act has moved through committee but faces a crowded legislative calendar before any floor vote
• A federal court ruling in July 2023 found that certain XRP sales did not constitute securities transactions

Spot Bitcoin ETFs recorded $854 million in net inflows for the week ending August 10, while spot Ether ETFs added $245 million. XRP’s divergence is the sharpest split in the current recovery cycle, and it has a specific cause.

XRP ETF Inflows Stall On CLARITY Act Delays

XRP ETF inflows continued for a fourth consecutive week but slowed sharply, according to CoinDesk reporting on August 10.

The deceleration tracks directly with congressional delays in passing the CLARITY Act, the pending U.S. legislation that would establish a formal framework for classifying digital assets as either securities or commodities.

For XRP specifically, the CLARITY Act carries outsized importance. Ripple Labs, the company behind the XRP payment network, spent years in litigation with the SEC over whether XRP is a security. A formal legislative definition would retire that ambiguity permanently, removing the single biggest institutional overhang on the asset.

Without it, large allocators treating regulatory risk as a core factor tend to rotate toward Bitcoin and Ether, both of which now have approved spot ETFs with years of regulatory precedent behind them.

The CLARITY Act has moved through committee but faces a crowded legislative calendar before any floor vote. Each week of delay is a week in which the XRP investment case remains partially unresolved.

Also Read: Since April, Bitcoin and Ether ETFs Soar With $1.1B Surge

Why A 5-Week Inflow Streak For Bitcoin And Ether Matters More Than A Single Number

The five-week inflow streak for Bitcoin ETFs is not just a flow statistic.

It represents a structural change in how institutional capital enters the cryptocurrency market. Before spot ETFs were approved in the United States, institutions wanting Bitcoin and Ether exposure had three options: buy the asset directly and manage custody, buy shares in a trust trading at a premium or discount to net asset value, or use derivatives with ongoing roll costs.

The spot ETF eliminates all three problems.

When an investor buys a share of a spot Bitcoin ETF, the fund’s custodian acquires actual Bitcoin on the open market. When shares are redeemed, Bitcoin is sold.

This mechanism means net inflows represent real demand pressure on the underlying asset, not just derivative positioning.

Five consecutive weeks of positive net flows means new buyers have been entering or existing holders have been adding continuously since late June. The $854 million weekly Bitcoin figure and $245 million Ether figure are net numbers, meaning they account for outflows from funds like the Grayscale Bitcoin Trust that converted from a closed-end trust structure and have experienced persistent redemptions.

The gross inflow numbers are considerably higher.

Also Read: Grayscale Storms Into Staking With ETF Amendment

A Spot ETF Holds The Underlying Asset Directly.

A spot ETF holds the underlying asset directly. This is what distinguishes Bitcoin and Ether spot products from earlier investment vehicles.

When an investor buys a share, the fund’s custodian acquires actual Bitcoin or Ether on the open market. When shares are redeemed, the asset is sold.

This mechanism means net inflows represent real demand pressure on the underlying asset, not just derivative positioning.

It is the structural reason why sustained weekly inflows carry more weight for Bitcoin and Ether price discovery than equivalent flows into futures-based products.

How XRP Diverged From A Broadening Rally

Bitcoin, Ether, and BNB each gained nearly 3% on the week, with global equities also trading near record levels. The macro backdrop was constructive.

U.S. inflation data due in the days ahead remained a risk, but risk assets broadly moved higher.

XRP’s 5% decline in that environment is not noise. It reflects a bifurcation that has become more pronounced throughout the 2026 recovery.

Assets with clear regulatory status, established spot ETF products, and large institutional ownership bases have absorbed inflows. Assets where a remaining legal or regulatory question still hangs over the investment thesis have been left behind, or in XRP’s case, actively sold.

This is a pattern with a historical parallel.

After the SEC first filed its complaint against Ripple in December 2020, XRP was delisted by multiple U.S. exchanges within weeks. It was trading around $0.22 in January 2021 while Bitcoin reached its then-record high.

XRP did not fully rejoin the broader altcoin rally until a federal court ruling in July 2023 found that certain XRP sales did not constitute securities transactions.

The current underperformance is less severe, but the mechanism is the same: unresolved regulatory status suppresses institutional demand precisely when macro conditions would otherwise be supportive. That same dynamic is now driving capital toward Bitcoin and Ether instead.

Also Read: MetaMask Agent Wallet Makes a Breakthrough in Autonomous AI Transactions

What The Inflow Streak Signals For The Weeks Ahead

The five-week streak coincides with Bitcoin approaching but not yet crossing its 2025 cycle high, which means the current ETF bid has been accumulative rather than momentum-driven at a peak.

That is a different profile from the January 2024 ETF launch period, when inflows spiked in the days around approval and then moderated sharply once the initial wave of pre-approved demand was absorbed.

Sustained weekly inflows at the current pace, if they continue, would represent the longest uninterrupted institutional accumulation period since Bitcoin and Ether ETFs launched. The streak also arrives ahead of U.S. inflation data that could either reinforce or disrupt the macro case for risk assets.

For XRP, the near-term catalyst remains the same one it has been for months.

A CLARITY Act vote that produces a favorable commodity classification would likely remove the institutional hesitancy driving capital into Bitcoin and Ether instead.

Any further delay, or a classification that leaves XRP in a gray zone, would extend the divergence. The balanced flows CoinDesk described suggest the XRP ETF market is priced for uncertainty rather than either resolution.

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