U.S. exchange-traded funds linked to Solana and XRP are still bringing in money, but the investor mix looks very different. Bloomberg Intelligence analysts James Seyffart and Sharoon Francis said in a new report that Solana ETFs are drawing stronger interest from institutional crypto investors, while XRP funds appear to depend more on retail buying.
13F filings show a heavier institutional footprint in Solana ETFs
As of Dec. 31, about 49% of assets in U.S. spot Solana ETFs could be identified through 13F filings, the regulatory disclosures required from large institutional investment managers. Among reported holders, investment advisers represented the biggest portion, with roughly $270 million in exposure. Hedge funds were next at about $186 million.
The analysts said early demand for Solana ETFs has been driven largely by industry-native capital rather than broad institutional adoption. The holder base remains concentrated at the top and tilted toward crypto-focused investment firms and market makers, a sign that wider institutional participation is still developing. Known holders include Electric Capital, Goldman Sachs and Elequin Capital.
Some inflows may be repositioned exposure, but not all of it
The report said part of the initial capital may reflect investors moving existing Solana exposure into ETF wrappers instead of making entirely new purchases. Still, the disclosed data does not support that explanation for the whole flow picture. Roughly half of ETF assets are visible through 13F filings, and even if those positions were mostly transferred exposure, a meaningful share of inflows would still appear to come from new buyers.
Solana is a blockchain network built for decentralized applications, including trading venues, lending services and NFT marketplaces. It has been widely used in crypto trading and DeFi because it is designed to process transactions quickly and at lower cost.
Inflows continue even as the token price falls sharply
Solana ETFs have kept attracting capital despite a weak market backdrop. The report said the funds have taken in $173 million in net inflows so far in 2026, bringing cumulative inflows since launch to about $1.45 billion. That equals roughly 2.5% of the amount gathered by U.S. spot bitcoin ETFs, still a notable figure for products that are relatively new.
They also launched into a difficult tape. Solana has fallen more than 50% since October, when new spot ETFs were introduced under the Securities Act of 1933. The flow data therefore reflects demand arriving during a period of heavy price weakness, not during a broad rally.
Compressed basis yields reduce room for common hedge fund trades
The report also said some standard ETF trading strategies look less attractive right now. Futures basis yields, often used by hedge funds in arbitrage trades, have compressed and reduced the incentive to put on new positions. In the analysts’ view, that leaves hedge funds and market makers with little reason to add fresh exposure in spot Solana ETFs.
The result is a split market. Both Solana and XRP ETFs are attracting investor interest, but the buyer base is not the same: Solana is leaning more on crypto-native institutional money, while XRP funds appear to be drawing more from retail demand.