Key facts
- Citadel Advisors significantly increased its XRP ETF holdings in Q2.
- The hedge fund reported direct holdings in REX-Osprey XRP ETF (XRPR) and Volatility Shares Trust XRP ETF (XRPI).
- Citadel's call position in Volatility Shares' 2x XRP ETF (XRPT) increased by 764% to 78,075 contracts.
- New call positions were established in Canary XRP ETF (XRPC), Franklin XRP Trust (XRPZ), Bitwise XRP ETF, and Teucrium 2x XRP ETF.
- Citadel also maintained and increased put positions in several XRP ETFs as a hedging strategy.
- U.S. spot XRP ETFs have accumulated nearly $1.7 billion in net inflows.
Ken Griffin's Citadel Advisors has substantially increased its investment in XRP exchange-traded funds during the second quarter, signaling a bullish stance on the cryptocurrency. The $875 billion asset management firm boosted its direct holdings and call positions across several US-listed XRP ETFs.
Citadel revealed direct holdings of 215,639 shares in the REX-Osprey XRP ETF (XRPR) and 54,438 units in the Volatility Shares Trust XRP ETF (XRPI). The most significant move was a 764% surge in call positions for Volatility Shares' 2x XRP ETF (XRPT), growing from 9,040 contracts in Q1 to 78,075 contracts worth $1.70 million in Q2. Additional call positions were established in Canary XRP ETF (XRPC), Franklin XRP Trust (XRPZ), Bitwise XRP ETF, and Teucrium 2x XRP ETF.
Complementing its bullish bets, Citadel also maintained and increased put positions in several XRP ETFs, including XRPI, Bitwise XRP, and Teucrium 2x XRP ETFs, indicating a hedging strategy to mitigate potential losses. Several other cash ETF lines were also eliminated.
This increased exposure comes as Ripple advances its tokenization, payments, and DeFi infrastructure, alongside an upcoming XRP Ledger upgrade. Other major financial institutions, including JPMorgan, Morgan Stanley, Bank of America, and Goldman Sachs, have also disclosed XRP exposure, with Goldman Sachs holding $86.50 million in XRP ETFs. U.S. spot XRP ETFs have collectively seen nearly $1.7 billion in net inflows.
In parallel, XRP price saw a rebound of nearly 10%, trading at $1.46 amid broader market discussions on geopolitical events and Treasury debt buybacks. Trading volume for XRP also increased by 20%.