tl;dr
The number of XRP holders nearly doubled from 1.29% to 2.42% between October 2024 and May 2025, surpassing Solana, which declined 35% from 2.72% to 1.76%. This shift is attributed to growing investor confidence in XRP as its legal battle with the SEC nears resolution and potential approval of a spot...
The number of XRP holders nearly doubled between October 2024 and May 2025, increasing from 1.29% to 2.42%, while Solana's holder base fell 35%, dropping from 2.72% to 1.76%. This shift reflects a growing investor confidence in XRP as both retail and institutional participants reallocated funds amidst expectations of a spot ETF approval and the resolution of XRP's longstanding legal dispute with the SEC.
XRP's momentum propelled it to become the third-largest cryptocurrency by market capitalization in November 2024, overtaking Solana. By January 2025, XRP holders represented 5% of total allocation, and XRP's price peaked at $3.31, its highest level since early 2018. These developments coincided with a positive market sentiment driven largely by a 90% probability of ETF approval anticipated by year-end 2025, according to trader expectations.
The reallocation was notable not just among retail investors but also within institutional tiers, highlighting a broad-based shift in portfolio strategies. Active traders, defined as those executing at least 20 transactions per month between October 2024 and May 2025, played a key role in this trend, according to the Bybit "H1 2025 asset allocation report." The study detailed wallet behavior across institutional, VIP, and general retail categories to capture this nuanced transition.
Despite XRP’s rise, Bitcoin and Ethereum maintained their dominance, controlling nearly 59% of non-stablecoin holdings as of May 2025. Stablecoin allocations declined as participants redeployed capital into these two crypto giants, with Bitcoin alone commanding about 31% of assets. The overall altcoin share contracted from a peak of 35.22% in November 2024 to 23.46% in May 2025, paralleling the surge in Bitcoin’s market presence and its fresh all-time high.
Institutional investors notably decreased their stablecoin holdings by 14% from April to May 2025, channeling approximately 6% each into Bitcoin and Ethereum, and a smaller portion back into Solana. This marked a reversal from prior defensive strategies adopted during earlier market downturns, signaling renewed confidence and capital movement toward established cryptocurrencies.