Bitwise CEO Highlights XRP ETF Gap as Solana Fund Crosses $1 Billion

Solana has joined Bitcoin and Ethereum as the only cryptocurrencies with a U.S. ETF product above $1 billion in assets, highlighting the challenge facing XRP funds as they compete for institutional capital.

Bitwise's Solana Staking ETF (BSOL) reached the milestone roughly 10 months after launch, helped by an annual staking yield of around 5.8%.

The milestone prompted a discussion about why XRP has yet to produce a billion-dollar individual ETF.

XRP ETFs Are Growing - But No Fund Has Reached $1 Billion

Bitwise CEO Hunter Horsley pointed out that Bitcoin, Ethereum and Solana are currently the only crypto assets with individual ETF products exceeding $1 billion in assets.

When an X user suggested the statistic was unfavorable toward XRP, Horsley responded:

The comment highlights a key difference between XRP and Solana: yield.

Solana ETFs can generate additional returns through native staking, while XRP does not have a comparable native staking mechanism.

Why Solana ETFs Have an Advantage

Solana's blockchain allows token holders to participate in staking and earn rewards for helping secure the network.

That creates an additional source of return for staking based ETF products.

BSOL has benefited from that structure, with staking rewards providing investors with an annual yield while maintaining exposure to SOL.

XRP works differently.

All XRP tokens were created upfront, and the XRP Ledger does not use a native staking system that generates rewards for holders. As a result, spot XRP ETFs currently depend almost entirely on price appreciation and investor demand to attract capital.

That difference could become increasingly important as investors compare crypto ETFs not only by their underlying assets but also by the potential income they can generate.

XRPL Lending Could Change the Equation

The XRP Ledger's emerging lending ecosystem could eventually provide another way for XRP-related products to generate returns.

The native XRPL Lending Protocol is currently going through a validator vote, potentially creating a new avenue for XRP holders to earn returns through lending rather than staking.

This development is particularly relevant given the growing focus on institutional lending across the XRP Ledger.

As covered in our recent article on XRP's potential to reach $3 as XRPL lending grows, institutional credit and yield opportunities could become an important part of the network's next growth phase.

However, lending is fundamentally different from native staking. It introduces credit and counterparty considerations, meaning it cannot automatically provide the same straightforward yield structure available through a staking-based ETF.

Related: XRP Could Hit $3 as XRPL Lending and Institutional Use Expand

XRP ETF Demand Remains Strong

Despite the lack of staking rewards, demand for XRP ETFs has been significant.

U.S. spot XRP ETFs have accumulated approximately $1.44 billion in net assets, with cumulative inflows reaching around $1.66 billion, according to the figures cited in the data.

The sector is therefore attracting substantial capital overall.

The issue is concentration.

No individual XRP ETF has yet crossed the $1 billion threshold, even though the combined category has accumulated significant assets.

Bitwise Leads the XRP ETF Race

Bitwise's XRP ETF currently leads the segment with approximately $632 million in assets, representing about 44% of the market.

Other major XRP funds include:

• Franklin Templeton's XRPZ: about $411 million
• Canary Capital's WAXRP: about $234 million
• 21Shares and Grayscale: the remaining market share

Based on those figures, Bitwise's XRP fund would need roughly $368 million in additional assets to reach $1 billion.

That makes the next phase of XRP ETF growth particularly important.

XRP Needs Sustained Demand to Reach $1 Billion

Solana's experience demonstrates how a yield-generating structure can accelerate ETF adoption.

XRP does not currently have that advantage.

For an XRP ETF to cross the $1 billion mark, investors will therefore need to continue allocating capital based primarily on their expectations for XRP's long-term price performance and institutional adoption.

That does not make the target impossible.

XRP already has a substantial ETF market and strong institutional interest. But without native staking rewards, the path toward the billion-dollar threshold may depend more heavily on sustained spot demand.

If XRP's ETF inflows continue accelerating, Bitwise could eventually become the first XRP fund to join the $1 billion ETF club.

For now, however, Solana's milestone exposes the key difference: XRP has demand, but it does not yet have the yield mechanism that has helped Solana ETFs scale so quickly.