XRP’s bullish-to-bearish ratio reached 2.35, a five-week high, while Bitcoin and Ethereum remain in bearish territory.
• XRP ETFs logged $150M in year-to-date inflows over 40+ consecutive days while Bitcoin and Ethereum products saw outflows.
• Despite bullish sentiment, XRP trades near $1.40 and maintains 1.8x downside volatility correlation to Bitcoin’s moves.
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Something unusual is happening in crypto sentiment. Santiment data shows XRP's bullish-to-bearish ratio climbed to 2.35 this week—its highest reading in five weeks. Bitcoin sits at 1.05 and Ethereum hovers around 1.4, both in neutral-to-bearish territory. XRP is the only major token where traders are turning optimistic.
The optimism is forming against a brutal backdrop. Bitcoin hovers near $65,000 after $3.8 billion in ETF outflows over five weeks. Fear is dominating the broader market, yet traders are positioning for an XRP move—whales are accumulating, institutional money is flowing in, and exchange supply is shrinking.
Although none of it has translated to an XRP price surge, XRP still trades near $1.40—locked to Bitcoin's downward trajectory like every other altcoin. With market sentiment turning green for XRP, will the price break free from Bitcoin's bearish grip on altcoins?
Why XRP Sentiment Is Diverging From Bitcoin
The sentiment gap between Bitcoin and XRP didn't appear out of nowhere. Over the past few weeks, XRP has quietly stacked institutional wins that shifted investors’ sentiment.
It started with partnerships. Japan's SBI Holdings launched a $65 million on-chain bond last week that pays investors in XRP—the first retail bond of its kind in a regulated market. Aviva Investors, managing over $275 billion in assets, announced plans to tokenize funds on the XRP Ledger. Ripple CEO Brad Garlinghouse also landed a seat on the CFTC's Digital Asset Innovation Advisory Committee.
Then institutional inflows started pouring in again. XRP ETFs logged more than 40 consecutive days of inflows before pausing, pulling in roughly $150 million year-to-date while Bitcoin and Ethereum products bled. Behind the headlines, Ripple has spent nearly $3 billion on acquisitions, building custody, brokerage, and treasury infrastructure that didn't exist two years ago.
Moreover, three European institutions with $3.4 trillion in combined assets have adopted Ripple infrastructure this February. The accumulation of positive catalysts is shifting how traders view XRP relative to Bitcoin. Although none of these headlines has moved the XRP price much—the advancements are showing up in sentiment before it shows up in price.