Retail Investors Fuel XRP Surge While Bitcoin Lags Behind

Retail investors are increasingly favoring XRP over Bitcoin, as Glassnode data shows a dramatic 490% increase in XRP’s daily active addresses, compared to just 10% for Bitcoin since the 2022 market low.

This surge suggests a speculative retail-driven rally for XRP, while Bitcoin’s growth remains mostly institutional.

XRP’s rise has been particularly rapid since December 2024, nearly doubling its realized market cap from $30.1 billion to $64.2 billion. However, much of this increase comes from newer investors, with nearly half of the new capital flowing from addresses created within the past six months.

This trend indicates a potentially fragile rally, as retail-driven growth can be volatile.

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Geographically, the surge is concentrated in Western markets, mainly Europe and the U.S., while interest in Asia and Africa is limited. Despite the recent momentum, inflows have slowed since February 2025, and the profit-to-loss ratio has declined since January, hinting at waning confidence among new investors. Glassnode cautions that XRP’s peak demand might have already been reached.

Moreover, the high concentration of new investors raises concerns about market stability, as retail-driven rallies are often short-lived. If the momentum fades, there could be a sharp correction, especially since the current rally lacks substantial long-term support.

Market watchers are closely monitoring whether recent buyers will hold their positions or trigger a wave of sell-offs if prices start to decline.

Alexander Stefanov