XRP Price Near $2 as ETF Inflows Top $1B While Retail Selloff and Fear Grip the Market

On December 7, 2025, XRP is trading just above the psychologically crucial $2.00 level, caught between powerful institutional buying through newly launched spot ETFs and a visibly exhausted retail crowd dumping into weakness. Price has slipped roughly 30–31% over the past two months, even as ETF assets have surged past $1 billion and locked away nearly half a billion XRP. ^[1]

This article pulls together the latest headlines — including XRP’s institutional demand vs. retail selloff, negative social sentiment, and a $12 million “max pain” cluster in derivatives — to explain what’s really happening with XRP on December 7, 2025, and which levels traders are watching next.

XRP price today: $2 support is holding, but only just

Across major exchanges, XRP is hovering around $2.02–$2.05 on December 7, with 24‑hour volumes still comfortably above $3 billion, indicating that liquidity remains deep even as momentum fades. ^[2]

Over the last month, XRP has slipped about 13%, and over roughly two months the drawdown reaches around 31%, taking the token from post‑ETF euphoria back into a grinding correction. ^[3] A number of daily and intraday analyses published today describe price “hugging” the lower end of a descending channel and repeatedly failing to sustain bounces above short‑term resistance zones. ^[4]

Zooming out, XRP’s performance looks unusual compared with other majors:

Year‑to‑date: XRP is one of the only large‑cap cryptos with a positive 2025 return, up about 4% for the year according to data highlighted by Yellow.com. ^[5]
12‑month and 1‑year view: price remains below late‑2024 levels (around $2.42), leaving XRP roughly 16% down vs. a year ago, even though it has been a relative outperformer in 2025 compared with many large‑cap coins. ^[6]

In other words, XRP is “less bad” than most majors this year, but still stuck in a corrective phase, and the $2.00 area has become the battlefield where bulls and bears are colliding.

Institutional investors quietly buy XRP via spot ETFs

Behind the soft price action sits one of the most striking stories of 2025: relentless institutional accumulation via XRP spot ETFs.

Several pieces of new research and news over the last few days show the same pattern:

By December 3, cumulative net inflows into XRP spot ETFs had already reached around $900 million, with 12–13 consecutive days of positive flows led by issuers such as Franklin Templeton, Bitwise and Grayscale. ^[7]
A MarketForces Africa report notes $50.27 million in inflows on a single day (December 3) and total ETF AUM near $906 million, even as XRP’s spot price slid to $2.15. ^[8]
As of December 6, Coinpaper reports that U.S. spot XRP ETFs have now smashed through the $1 billion AUM mark, locking 473.5 million XRP in regulated vaults — nearly 0.5% of circulating supply. ^[9]
AInvest’s institutional deep‑dive estimates that ETFs now hold about 0.6% of XRP’s market cap and that structural ETF demand is outpacing selling on exchanges. ^[10]

A crucial detail: MarketForces notes that these new U.S. products cannot draw XRP from Ripple’s escrow, meaning most ETF demand must compete for coins sitting on exchanges or in private wallets. ^[11] At the same time, on‑chain data summarized by AInvest shows:

Whale wallets (100m+ XRP) holding about 48 billion XRP, a seven‑year high.
Exchange balances down roughly 34% in just two months, signaling tightening liquid supply. ^[12]

So while the price chart looks heavy, ownership is quietly concentrating in ETFs and large holders. That divergence — strong structural demand vs. weak spot price — is at the heart of XRP’s current puzzle.

Retail selloff and social sentiment turn wildly negative

If institutions are buying, who’s selling?

The MarketForces Africa article “XRP Falls Amidst Institutional Demand, Retail Selloff” frames the move to $2.15 as a classic “sell‑the‑news” reaction from smaller traders after the ETF launch headlines. It highlights: ^[13]

A 30% price drop in 60 days, even as ETFs attracted hundreds of millions of dollars.
Whale wallets increasing transfer activity while technicals turned bearish.
A key $1.90–$2.20 trading zone where either supply scarcity (thanks to ETFs and exchange outflows) or macro weakness will ultimately win out.
The risk that a clean break below $2.00 could trigger cascading liquidations, while a push back above $2.25 could force late shorts to cover.

CoinDesk’s piece “XRP Faces Downside Risk as Social Sentiment Turns Wildly Negative” — syndicated on MEXC — adds another dimension: crowd psychology. Drawing on data from analytics firm Santiment, the article notes: ^[14]

XRP has endured about a 31% slide over two months, pushing the token into what Santiment calls a “fear zone”, where negative social messages far outweigh positive ones.
Previous spikes in fear earlier in the year sometimes preceded short‑term rebounds of around 20%+, but not all such events marked durable bottoms.

Fresh analysis posted ahead of December 7 on MEXC (sourced from 36Crypto) underscores just how entrenched selling pressure has become:

Price is described as “struggling below $2.05” in a descending channel.
The Supertrend indicator on higher time frames remains bearish, while Parabolic SAR dots sit above price.
Spot inflows of roughly $4.36 million are characterized as “reactive rather than proactive” — traders are stabilizing price, not truly accumulating.
Derivatives open interest has slid to around $3.64 billion, with futures volume down 18% and options volume down 60%, reflecting fading conviction. ^[15]

Taken together, the data paints a picture of retail capitulation and emotionally driven selling against a backdrop of slow, steady institutional absorption.

Derivatives market: $12 million “max pain” line at $2.28

The options market adds another layer of nuance to XRP’s current squeeze.

According to U.Today’s “Max Pain XRP Price for Bears Revealed: $12 Million at Risk,” which draws on CoinGlass positioning data, the largest cluster of short exposure sits near a max‑pain level of about $2.2859: ^[16]

Roughly $12 million in short positions are concentrated around that price, significantly above the current ~$2.05–$2.10 spot level.
Bulls, by contrast, have about $7.6 million in exposure, but their pain line lies less than 1% away from spot, meaning even a modest dip hits longs first.

In plain language:

Shorts have more money on the line but a comfortable buffer.
Longs have less capital deployed but feel the stress sooner if price drifts lower.

If XRP grinds higher toward the $2.20–$2.30 zone, that short cluster moves closer to the danger zone and could fuel a short squeeze, especially if it corresponds with heavy ETF inflows and stronger risk appetite. If instead price loses $2.00 decisively, bearish traders retain control and options pressure likely accelerates downside toward the $1.83–$1.72 area flagged in today’s technical calls. ^[17]

Right now, the options board doesn’t pick a winner — it simply confirms that the real battlefield sits between $2.00 and $2.30.

Technical picture: Bollinger Bands, Supertrend and Wyckoff reaccumulation

Bollinger Bands warn that $2 could “turn into a memory”

U.Today’s weekend price analysis using Bollinger Bands sends a stark warning for XRP bulls:

On the monthly chart, the mid‑band (a moving average) still sits around $1.82–$1.85, implying XRP never truly built a long‑term base above $2.00.
On the weekly chart, price is stuck below a mid‑band near $2.69 and keeps gravitating toward the lower band around $1.94, repeatedly failing to hold above the $2.20–$2.30 “launch zone.”
On the daily chart, XRP trades under a mid‑band near $2.12, frequently tagging the lower band around $1.95, with the bands beginning to curl downward. ^[18]

The conclusion from that framework: unless buyers reclaim those mid‑bands — especially the $2.10–$2.30 cluster — the trend bias still points back toward the sub‑$2 area.

Supertrend remains bullish on the monthly time frame

Brave New Coin’s “XRP Price Today” analysis offers a contrasting, more optimistic angle. While acknowledging that XRP is trading near $2.03 and down about 2.7% in 24 hours, it notes that the monthly Supertrend indicator remains in bullish mode, with key long‑term support above $1.30. ^[19]

In other words:

Short‑term signals (daily/weekly Bollinger Bands, descending channels) are clearly bearish.
Long‑term trend tools still suggest XRP is in a broader uptrend that began in 2024, unless price breaks much deeper.

CryptoTicker’s update today reinforces the “coiled spring” narrative: XRP is sitting near $2.04, hugging the lower Bollinger Band, with the middle band around $2.11 and the upper band near $2.28, forming a volatility squeeze that often precedes a strong directional move. ^[20]

Wyckoff reaccumulation: Spring or failed bounce?

AInvest’s Sunday analysis goes even further, arguing that XRP’s structure fits a classic Wyckoff reaccumulation pattern: ^[21]

A “Spring” phase appears to have formed on a rebound from around $2.14, where strong hands may be accumulating.
As long as XRP holds above roughly $1.61–$1.70, the pattern remains valid.
Immediate resistance lies near $2.28 and $2.35, overlapping with the options max‑pain zone and Bollinger upper band.
A clean breakout above $2.50 could open the way to higher targets into 2026, while a breakdown below the $2.00–$2.20 consolidation range would invalidate the bullish Wyckoff script.

This is why so many analyses published today keep circling back to the same band: $2.00–$2.30 is the market’s fulcrum.

On‑chain, supply and burn metrics: low activity, tight liquidity

Today’s on‑chain and burn metrics add another twist: on‑chain activity is cooling just as supply tightens.

Burn volume plunges 59%

CryptoRobotics’ fresh report “The Curious Case of XRP: Market Setback or Hidden Goldmine?” highlights a 59% drop in XRP burn volume, which usually reflects network usage. Lower burn typically signals: ^[22]

Fewer transactions and less organic activity on the XRP Ledger.
Potential vulnerability to further price erosion if demand doesn’t pick up.

However, the same article notes that XRP ETFs remain strong even as on‑chain metrics soften, underscoring a growing disconnect between on‑chain activity and off‑chain financial demand.

Exchange balances fall and whales accumulate

AInvest’s Wyckoff and institutional‑case pieces, together with Coinpaper’s ETF deep dive, point to a tightening supply backdrop: ^[23]

Exchange‑held XRP balances are down by over 34% in two months, suggesting coins are moving into cold storage and ETF vaults.
Whales with 100m+ XRP have reduced the number of large wallets but increased total holdings to about 48 billion XRP, and whale‑to‑exchange transfers have collapsed, hinting at long‑term holding rather than distribution.
ETF products alone now hold close to 0.5–0.6% of total supply, and that share is still rising.

From speculative token to financial “plumbing”

Yellow.com’s report on Ripple’s acquisition of GTreasury emphasizes how XRP is slowly being woven into enterprise‑grade treasury infrastructure that handles an estimated $12.5 trillion in liquidity flows for over 1,000 multinational corporates. ^[24]

This shift helps explain why XRP is one of the few large‑caps with a positive YTD return despite recent turbulence: less of the narrative is now about meme‑driven speculation, and more about becoming “invisible plumbing” for institutional payments — even if the price chart doesn’t yet fully reflect that story.

Macro backdrop: Fed cuts, risk appetite and XRP

Macro conditions are a major subplot in today’s XRP coverage.

Both MarketForces Africa and CryptoTicker point to expectations that the U.S. Federal Reserve will cut rates by 25 basis points in its upcoming meeting, with CME FedWatch data implying odds above 80% for that scenario. ^[25]

Rate cuts usually:

Lower yields on safer assets, nudging capital into risk assets like crypto.
Support valuations for assets that benefit from abundant liquidity.

However, CoinDesk’s broader macro coverage warns that risk sentiment can still sour if markets interpret cuts as a response to slowing growth rather than benign easing. In that case, risk‑off waves can pressure altcoins like XRP faster than Bitcoin. ^[26]

For XRP specifically, the Fed decision may act as the spark that drives price out of its $2.00–$2.30 squeeze — but direction will depend on how markets read the Fed’s tone and whether ETF inflows keep absorbing sell pressure.

What all this means for XRP traders and investors

Putting the December 7 news flow together, XRP is in a high‑tension stalemate:

Institutional demand is strong and growing — ETFs have crossed $1B AUM, locked 473M+ coins, and continue to attract inflows even as price drifts lower. ^[27]
Retail sentiment is deeply negative, with social “fear zone” readings, descending channels, and repeated failures to reclaim resistance. ^[28]
Derivatives positioning shows shorts sitting on a big cushion above $2.28 while longs feel the pain on every small dip. ^[29]
On‑chain activity has cooled, burn volume is down sharply, but circulating supply is quietly tightening as whales and ETFs accumulate. ^[30]

Key levels and signals to watch

Without offering any investment advice, here are the levels and signals most commentators are watching after today’s news:

$2.00 support
- A decisive break and daily close far below could open the door toward $1.83–$1.72 in many technical roadmaps. ^[31]
$2.10–$2.12 (daily mid‑band)
- Reclaiming this zone would be an early sign that momentum is stabilizing. ^[32]
$2.25–$2.30 (options max pain + resistance cluster)
- A sustained move above here could pressure shorts, validate parts of the Wyckoff “Test” phase and potentially shift sentiment out of the fear zone. ^[33]
ETF flows and exchange balances
- Continued net inflows and shrinking exchange supply strengthen the long‑term bull case, even if spot price lags. ^[34]
Social and on‑chain data
- If burn volume and network activity recover while sentiment remains fearful, some analysts will treat that as a contrarian accumulation signal; if both activity and sentiment keep weakening, the bear case gains weight. ^[35]

Final thought (and a quick disclaimer)

XRP’s December 7 story is not a simple “bullish” or “bearish” headline. It’s a tug‑of‑war:

Short‑term charts and sentiment look fragile, and a clean loss of $2.00 would likely accelerate downside.
Structural flows and institutional adoption look stronger than ever, with ETFs, corporate integrations and tightening supply quietly reshaping the long‑term narrative.