XRP ETF Institutional Buys: Perp Market Impact

Farmers & Merchants Investments, a bank holding company managing $3.6 billion in assets, has filed an SEC disclosure revealing a position in the Bitwise XRP ETF — adding another traditional finance name to the growing list of institutions building structured exposure to XRP. For perpetual futures traders, the significance lies less in the position size and more in what the accumulation pattern signals about directional sentiment and near-term funding dynamics.

What the SEC Filing Actually Shows

The disclosed position amounts to 2,374 shares of the Bitwise XRP ETF, valued at approximately $35,681 — a modest allocation relative to the firm's total AUM. The same filing also confirmed holdings in BlackRock's Bitcoin ETF (IBIT), suggesting a deliberate multi-asset crypto allocation strategy rather than a one-off speculative bet.

This follows a broader institutional pattern. Goldman Sachs currently holds the largest reported XRP ETF position among major financial institutions, with disclosed holdings exceeding $152 million. Bank of America has separately disclosed 13,000 shares in the Volatility Shares XRP ETF. The regulatory backdrop is providing cover for these moves — the SEC and CFTC have both moved to classify XRP as a non-security under the current administration, removing a key compliance barrier for institutional allocators.

ETF Flow Data: Cumulative Inflows Approach $1.3B

On a flow basis, spot XRP ETFs recorded net inflows of $3.89 million on Thursday, with Franklin's XRPZ as the sole contributor per SoSoValue data. Cumulative net inflows now stand at $1.28 billion, with total ETF assets under management reaching $1.08 billion. Meanwhile, on-chain data points to large holders adding an average of approximately 11 million XRP per day through April — a sustained accumulation pace that has historically preceded volatility compression followed by directional expansion.

How Does This Affect XRP Perpetual Markets?

As of late April 2025, XRP spot is trading near $1.42, with a 24-hour range of $1.41 to $1.44. Trading volume has softened slightly, partly attributable to crypto options expiry. In perpetual markets, the more relevant dynamic is what's happening with funding and positioning — and the current setup warrants caution for longs despite the bullish institutional narrative.

Positive sentiment from ETF disclosures tends to attract retail long positioning in perp markets. When that coincides with already-elevated funding rates, the risk of a funding-driven flush increases materially — regardless of the underlying fundamental story.

What Blackperp's Engine Shows

Blackperp's live engine is currently reading a lean short bias on XRPUSDT with 61% confidence, operating within a ranging regime at medium volatility. The signal stack is notably bearish from a carry and mean-reversion standpoint.

Annualized funding on XRP perps is running at +707.4% — an extreme reading that reflects heavily crowded long positioning. The basis sits at -6.6bps, and the combined basis trade signal registers at +700.8bps, firmly in short-carry territory. The mean reversion z-score has reached 3.99, which the engine flags as an extreme stretch with an active fade signal.

Critically, the cross-exchange funding divergence is flashing an extreme divergence warning: Binance funding sits at 0.6460% per period versus OKX at 0.0058% — a spread of 0.6402%. This kind of inter-exchange dislocation typically precedes a sharp funding normalization event, often accompanied by long liquidations.

Key levels to monitor: resistance clusters near $1.47 where liquidation data shows a dense short stack. Immediate support sits at $1.42 — the current spot price — with deeper support at $1.39. A break below $1.42 on elevated volume could trigger a cascade toward the lower support level as long positions unwind.