A reported $3.58 million outflow from the Bitwise XRP ETF drew attention on Aug. 6 after social media accounts described the move as an unusual sale by the asset manager.
Summary
- Bitwise’s XRP ETF reportedly recorded $3.58 million in net redemptions during Wednesday’s U.S. trading session.
- Official Bitwise data showed 293.9 million XRP held by the trust through August 4, 2026.
- ETF outflows reflect shareholder redemptions and do not establish a discretionary bearish decision by Bitwise.
- The trust may distribute XRP in kind or sell tokens to satisfy cash redemption orders.
- XRP traded near $1.07, remaining roughly 70% below its July 2025 record high of $3.65.
The available evidence supports a narrower conclusion: the fund reportedly experienced a net redemption during the Aug. 5 U.S. session.
No public transaction details show that Bitwise made a discretionary market call against XRP. The distinction matters because the fund is a trust holding XRP for shareholders. Bitwise Investment Advisers sponsors the product, while authorized financial firms handle share creation and redemption orders under the trust’s operating documents.
Bitwise XRP ETF outflow is a shareholder redemption
The Bitwise XRP ETF creates and redeems shares in blocks of 10,000 through authorized participants. A net outflow therefore indicates that more fund shares were redeemed than created. It does not, by itself, reveal why investors reduced exposure or show that Bitwise changed its view of XRP.
The trust can settle a redemption in two ways. For an in-kind redemption, it transfers the corresponding XRP to an authorized participant or its designee. For a cash redemption, the sponsor arranges for the required XRP to be sold and sends the cash proceeds. A redemption can therefore involve an XRP sale, but it remains part of the fund mechanism rather than a proprietary trade by Bitwise.
Moreover, Bitwise’s official page showed 293.93 million XRP in the trust as of Aug. 4, valued at $314.39 million. It also listed 26.31 million shares outstanding, net assets of about $314.37 million and an $11.95 net asset value per share. The page had not advanced to Aug. 5 holdings when checked.
That timing prevents the public holdings page from confirming the reported $3.58 million reduction. The post behind the claim also did not provide a transaction hash, wallet address or identified counterparty. Calling the report “onchain data” does not establish whether XRP was sold for cash, transferred in kind or reflected through a change in fund shares.
Redemptions are already part of the fund’s operations
The fund’s March 31 quarterly filing shows that redemptions have occurred before without proving a change in Bitwise’s XRP thesis. During the first quarter, the trust sold about 9.73 million XRP for share redemptions and delivered another 2.69 million XRP through in-kind redemptions. It still ended March with 194.90 million XRP, up from 131.22 million at year-end.
By Aug. 4, the official holdings total had climbed to 293.93 million XRP. That increase places a reported $3.58 million daily outflow in a broader context. As previously reported inearlier fund-flow coverage, Bitwise said its U.S. and European XRP products had attracted more than $200 million during 2026 by late June.
The claim that Bitwise made a “bearish” XRP sale remains unproven.
A single redemption can reflect portfolio rebalancing, liquidity needs, arbitrage or a client’s risk decision. It does not identify the beneficial investor behind the order. It also does not show whether Bitwise executives expect XRP to fall.
XRP weakness keeps ETF flows in focus
XRP traded near $1.07 on Aug. 6, with CoinGecko placing its 24-hour range between $1.05 and $1.08. The token remained around 70% below its July 2025 record of $3.65, while its market capitalization stood near $67 billion.
The Bitwise product has also absorbed the decline. Its official page showed a year-to-date NAV return of minus 41.70% through July 30. The fund’s NAV fell 0.76% on Aug. 4, while its market price declined 0.91%. Those figures help explain why redemptions attract attention, but they do not prove that one day’s flow drove XRP’s price.
In related institutional-demand coverage, U.S. spot XRP funds recorded $25.8 million in combined inflows on May 11, including $7.6 million for Bitwise. More recent market analysis also documented weaker ETF flows and fading whale activity as XRP approached the $1 support area.
What happens next for the Bitwise XRP fund
The next confirmation should come from Bitwise’s daily holdings data. Changes in XRP held, shares outstanding and net assets can show whether the Aug. 5 report represented a completed redemption. A later quarterly SEC filing will provide more detail on XRP sold for cash, XRP transferred in kind and shares redeemed during the reporting period.
Until those records are available, the defensible description is a reported $3.58 million ETF outflow. Describing it as Bitwise becoming bearish goes beyond the evidence. The market should also separate the fund sponsor’s role from redemption decisions initiated through authorized participants and their clients.
