XRP’s 32% August Rebound Gets an $80 Million ETF Boost—But Whale Flows Cut Both Ways

XRP has climbed out of its sub-$1 hole and is now on pace for its strongest monthly gain in more than a year.

The rebound is real. So are the crosscurrents underneath it.

XRP traded near $1.40 on August 26 after reaching roughly $1.70 during last week’s broad crypto surge. Even after a daily pullback of about 5%, the token remained on track for an August gain near 32%—its best monthly performance since July 2025.

CryptoSlate reports that U.S. spot XRP exchange-traded funds drew about $23.87 million on August 25. That was their largest daily inflow since May 11 and extended the group’s positive streak to nine trading sessions.

Those funds have now collected more than $80 million in August. Cumulative net subscriptions since launch have reached approximately $1.59 billion, while net assets stood near $1.46 billion at the end of Tuesday’s session.

That gives XRP a recurring source of institutional demand at the same time the token is attempting to hold a sharp recovery. It does not guarantee that the price keeps climbing.

Earlier this year, the funds built a large inflow total while XRP still fell toward $1.

This time, however, ETF buying is arriving alongside stronger activity on the XRP Ledger.

Ripple’s RLUSD stablecoin crossed $2 billion in total circulating supply last week. About $963 million was on the XRP Ledger as of August 25, with roughly $1.05 billion on Ethereum.

Monthly transfer volume across the two networks reached approximately $11.8 billion.

Evernorth, the largest public company holding XRP, says RLUSD outstanding on XRPL increased 39% from May 20 to roughly $934 million even as stablecoin supply across platforms contracted from its May peak.

XRPL has been bucking the trend. While stablecoins across platforms have been contracting, they’ve been growing on the ledger.

RLUSD outstanding is up 39% since May 20, to $934M. Across platforms, there are about 6% fewer stablecoins in circulation than in May when things… pic.twitter.com/M5v1s4cCc8

— evernorthxrp (@evernorthxrp) August 25, 2026

Evernorth’s ledger analysis found that about $450 million of RLUSD was issued on XRPL over the previous 30 days and roughly the same amount was redeemed. Ethereum recorded about $403 million of issuance and $177 million of redemptions over a comparable period.

That turnover matters because it shows the ledger is being used. It should not be confused with a direct XRP buy signal: RLUSD can be issued, transferred and redeemed without creating an equivalent purchase of the network’s native token.

The whale data carries the same need for caution.

CryptoQuant data cited by CryptoSlate shows large-holder inflows to Binance reaching about 1.451 billion XRP over 30 days, the highest four-week total in four months. Daily whale inflows also spiked to roughly 460 million XRP during the rally.

Moving coins onto an exchange can put them within reach of the market, but it is not proof that they were sold. Deposits can also reflect collateral management, internal transfers or portfolio repositioning.

At the same time, large withdrawals have surged in the opposite direction.

Darkfost, a CryptoQuant analyst, reported that whale withdrawals from Binance reached more than 231 million XRP by August 21. That was more than four times the level recorded two days earlier and the highest reading in about six months.

📈 XRP whale outflows hit 6-month high while $44 billion floods into market cap

Outflows of XRP categorized as "whale" transactions on Binance have surged notably in recent days.

💥 More than 231 million XRP have been withdrawn by whales from Binance, marking their highest… pic.twitter.com/9iahQM8AvO

— Darkfost (@Darkfost_Coc) August 26, 2026

Large withdrawals can reduce the amount of XRP immediately available for sale and may reflect accumulation or a move into longer-term custody. But the simultaneous surge in deposits makes a one-direction story impossible to defend from the available data.

What can be said is that whales are active again—on both sides.

The final days of August now present a clean test. ETF investors continue to add regulated XRP exposure, RLUSD activity is broadening the ledger’s economic footprint, and the token has recovered sharply from below $1.

Against that, XRP must absorb a meaningful daily pullback and a large increase in exchange-bound whale supply.

If ETF inflows persist and XRP holds the bulk of its monthly gain, the rebound will have a stronger demand foundation than a simple short-lived price spike. If exchange deposits turn into sustained selling, the same whale activity could cap the move.

For now, XRP’s 32% August run has more behind it than momentum alone. It also has enough conflicting large-holder activity to keep the next leg from being a foregone conclusion.

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