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U A , S. Exchange-traded funds tied to Solana (SOL) and $XRP ($XPR) are attracting investors even though crypto prices have fallen, but the two products are very different types of buyers.
The newest report by Bloomberg Intelligence analyst James Seyffart and Sharoon Francis, said that solana ETFs are seeing stronger participation from institutional crypto investors while $XRP funds seem to be more dependent on retail demand.
The analysts cited the Solana ETFs as being driven mostly by industry-native capital rather than more widespread institutional adoption, such as “Early Sola ETC” demand.
About 49% of assets in U.S. – . S. as of Dec., 13F filings identified spot Solana ETFs were. regulation for large institutional investment managers, a regulatory disclosure required by 31. With an exposure estimated at around $270 million in the holdings of reported assets, investors were a large portion of those held by investment advisers. followed by hedge funds with about $186 million worth of.
Analysts wrote that “the earliest base of holder is still heavy and heavily focused on crypto-focused investment firms and market makers, suggesting the wider institutional participation is continuing to be built.” Its biggest namesakes include Electric Capital, Goldman SachS and Elequin capital.
In Solana, a blockchain network designed to support decentralized applications like trading platforms, lending services and NFT marketplaces. This network is a popular platform for crypto trading and decentralized finance, as it seeks to process transactions quickly and cheaply; the network has been known for its rapid-growing popularity.
Some of the initial capital likely reflect investors re-investing existing Solana exposure into the ETF structure rather than entirely new buying. But still, the information indicates that doesn’t explain the full picture. Approximately half ETF assets are disclosed in 13F filings, even assuming those positions were swapped exposure would leave much of the flow from new buyers.
In 2026, Solana ETFs have drew $173 million in net inflows from so far at Sola’s expense even as the token has sharply declined. In addition, cumulative inflows into the funds have reached about $1 per cent, according to the report. 45 billion since launch of . That is about 2 s. 5% of the amount that is found on bitcoin BTC$70,816. A total of 15 ETFs have been collected, but it is still a relatively strong figure for such young products.
The products were released in a tough market environment, with s playing the product. Solana has since fallen more than half since October, when new spot ETFs were launched under the Securities Act of 1933.
There are also limited ETF trading strategies that appear to be a few common ETC trading techniques. For example, futures basis yield is often hedge funds use arbitrage trade-offs – but have compressed; therefore, incentives for those positions are less. The analyst said hedge funds and market makers have little incentive to enter new positions in spot Solana ETFs with basis yield now compressed.
$XRP ETFs present a different ownership pattern.
Approximately 16% of $XRP ETF assets were identified by 13F filings at the end of December, suggesting that there was a smaller institutional footprint. A third, Advisers dominated among disclosed holders with about $165 million exposure; hedge funds were around $37 million in total and hedge fund was approximately $170 million.
The remaining shares are likely held by investors who do not file 13Fs, including retail buyers.
“We believe a large portion are held by retail investors, who aren’t required to file 13Fs,” according to the report.
The native token on the $XRP is $xRP, a blockchain that deals with payments and cross-border money transfers of the new $$RP Ledger. It is designed to facilitate financial institutions to transfer money between countries quickly and at a lower cost than traditional banking rails.
But while $XRP ETFs have accumulated significant assets, even though the retail tilt is still high, they’ve also acquired substantial assets. The money drew over $1 million for . In the six weeks since its launch in November, 4 billion has been accumulated and have mostly held those gains into 2026 (including $XRP down about 26% this year).
But the stability in assets despite weaker futures activity suggests demand may reflect direct market views rather than derivatives-driven arbitrage, analysts said.
“ETF assets have largely held their gains, suggesting demand may become increasingly directional rather than mechanical,” they wrote.
Together, the findings show how newer crypto ETFs are still developing their investor bases.
While bitcoin funds have drew broad institutional adoption, Solana and $XRP products seem to be carving out different paths as the market matures; solani has more crypto-native institutional capital in its portfolio while $xRP is also growing among retail investors.
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