Ripple Is Pulling Ahead Again as Capital Is Rotating Fast Into XRP: What Does This Mean?

Ripple’s cross-border token has failed to recapture its momentum from the late 2024 and early 2025 run when it skyrocketed from $0.6 to $3.4. In the past few months, the asset has been stuck in a consolidation phase within a tight range between $2.1 and $2.4, with a few brief and unsuccessful breakout attempts in both directions.

However, more recent data from Glassnode indicates that XRP is once again in the driver’s seat in terms of capital rotation, at least when compared to SOL, which could trigger a substantial shift in the narrative around the asset and potentially impact its price movements.

Realized Cap Changes

The analytics platform’s graph shows that XRP dominated SOL in terms of 30D Realized Cap changes until the end of March. At the beginning of that month, Ripple’s token flew past $3 briefly, and even though it corrected slightly in the following weeks, it still stood above $2.6-7 for the most part.

However, then came the trade war escalation, and XRP’s price tumbled, alongside Glassnode’s metric. The situation changed briefly in early May as XRP was recovering from a plunge to $1.6 and returned above $2. SOL performed a lot better in the following month, but XRP has regained its lead in the past few days.

Consequently, Glassnode determined that this growing capital rotation into XRP hints at “stronger short-term conviction.”

Why So?

The primary narrative supporting XRP’s improving position is the renewed hope for spot Ripple ETF approvals. Most recently, the SEC greenlighted a Nasdaq crypto US settlement price index, which included Ripple’s token. Many analysts believe this opened the door even more for an XRP ETF in the States.

Polymarket’s current data shows a 89% chance for such a product to be approved in the US this year. Although SOL’s percentage is quite high as well, other experts noted that Ripple continues to expand its DeFi ecosystem, including the recent introduction of USDC on XRPL, which could further enhance its position.

Additionally, some noted that XRP is holding better because capital “chases regulatory clarity and event-driven hype, while SOL’s bounce potential is hampered by recent drawdowns and meme rotation fatigue.”