XRP has shown no clear direction for months, but inflows into exchange-traded funds (ETFs), accumulation by whale wallets and Ripple’s expansion of institutional business are instead setting records, a claim has been made.

On May 28 (local time), blockchain media outlet The Crypto Basic reported that Jake Claver (제이크 클레이버), chairman of Digital Ascension Group, said institution-related metrics had risen to record levels regardless of XRP’s price movement.

In a post on X, formerly Twitter, Claver said multiple indicators tied to XRP adoption, ETFs, whale accumulation and Ripple’s institutional expansion were strengthening independently of price. He highlighted that Ripple ranked 16th on CNBC’s 2026 Disruptor 50 list and was the only crypto-native company included.

Ripple also entered the top 10 on the Prime Unicorn Index, which tracks large private companies, with a valuation of more than $26 billion. Claver noted that institutional investors and compliance teams refer to such rankings during pre-investment due diligence.

Growth in XRP spot ETFs has also expanded. Since their launch in November 2025, inflows on May 11 alone totaled $25.8 million, the largest since Jan. 5. Franklin Templeton’s XRPZ drew $13.6 million, the highest single-day inflow this year.

From May 11 to 15, total inflows into XRP spot ETFs came to $60.5 million, the strongest weekly performance so far this year.

Claver also claimed that XRP spot ETFs are currently the third-largest crypto ETF category after bitcoin and ethereum. He said cumulative inflows rose to $1.41 billion, and that they became the crypto ETFs to surpass $1 billion the fastest after bitcoin spot ETFs.

On-chain metrics also showed continued accumulation signals. As of May 12, wallets holding at least 10,000 XRP totaled about 332,230, a record high. Wallets holding at least 1,000,000 XRP increased by 42 in 2026. Claver said the rise in this whale cohort was the first since September 2025.

Accumulation by large wallets also grew. Those wallets added another 1.2 billion XRP in the first quarter of 2026, presented as the largest quarterly accumulation since 2023. During the recent consolidation range, a single wallet was reported to have added 250 million XRP.

The share of outflows from exchanges also increased. On Binance, the ratio favoring whale outflows of XRP rose to 91.4 percent, the highest since 2024. It means more tokens are leaving than entering exchanges, a metric the market interprets as a signal of long-term holding.

Ripple’s institutional infrastructure also expanded. After completing its $1.25 billion acquisition of prime brokerage Hidden Road, Ripple was listed in the U.S. Depository Trust & Clearing Corporation (DTCC) and NSCC clearing directory. That has led to an assessment that it has moved closer to traditional financial payment infrastructure.

Ripple Custody also expanded its business through partnerships with Securosys and Figment, and integrated Chainalysis’ transaction screening tool. Ripple Payments is also continuing its expansion into more than 60 global markets.

A forward-looking view on inflows was also presented. Standard Chartered adjusted part of its XRP outlook earlier this year, but said that if the Clarity bill introduced in the U.S. Congress is enacted, $4 billion to $8 billion could flow into XRP spot ETFs in 2026 alone. Claver noted that the estimate is still far above cumulative ETF inflows recorded so far.

Claver said institutional infrastructure, ETF demand and whale accumulation are all strengthening, and that this trend is appearing ahead of a full-scale XRP price breakout. Even while prices are stagnant, shifts in flows, holding structure and institutional touchpoints are becoming a key point to watch in the XRP market.

That same group of million-plus XRP wallets accumulated 1.2 billion tokens in Q1 2026 Highest quarterly accumulation figure since 2023 One single address added 250 million XRP during the consolidation 9/15