- Levi Rietveld warns that institutions are aiming to acquire large amounts of XRP from retail holders at discounted prices, often using tariff-driven fear to trigger selling.
- Current institutional buying in the 2024–2025 bull cycle is 3–5x higher than the last, with XRP ETFs likely to attract billions if approved.
- Rietveld sees XRP’s borderless, tariff-immune nature and upcoming catalysts like ETF approvals and rate cuts as key reasons not to sell early.
Financial analyst Levi Rietveld just dropped a pretty blunt warning for XRP holders: big institutions aren’t nibbling, they’re hunting for your whole bag — and they want it while prices are low. In a recent video, he claimed the playbook is simple — use market manipulation, sometimes through tariff-driven panic, to shake retail hands loose.
He pointed back to moments when tariff news sent XRP tumbling overnight, nearly halving in value. Right now, he’s watching the ripple effects (pun intended) of President Trump doubling tariffs on India over Russian oil purchases. India’s not backing down, tightening ties with Russia and Brazil instead, which Rietveld thinks could spiral into even harsher tariffs — maybe 100% — that smack crypto prices before the rebound.
Institutions Already Loading Up
Beyond the tariff noise, Rietveld says the bigger story is just how aggressive institutional buying has been in this cycle compared to 2020–2021. Back then, big moves like MicroStrategy’s 70K BTC buy or Tesla’s $1.5B Bitcoin splash made headlines. But now? Spot Bitcoin ETFs have brought in over $50B in net inflows by mid-2025. BlackRock alone saw $370M flow into its Bitcoin ETF in one day, while Ethereum ETFs raked in $850M in a single week.
He believes XRP’s next in line. The July launch of the ProShares Ultra XRP Futures ETF pushed it to an ATH of $3.66, and with multiple spot XRP ETFs from Canary Capital, Grayscale, 21Shares, and WisdomTree sitting at a 93% approval probability, Rietveld thinks billions could flood in — just like BTC and ETH.
Why Selling Now Could Be Costly
According to Rietveld, institutional accumulation of XRP this cycle is already 3–5x larger than the last bull run. If spot ETFs get the green light, that gap only widens. Selling before then, he warns, is basically handing over discounted supply to the same institutions that will profit once prices run.
He also echoed Michael Saylor’s point that crypto is immune to tariffs — unlike gold or other physical assets. In a world where tariff hikes could push capital away from commodities, XRP’s global, borderless nature could become a key advantage. With ETF approvals, possible U.S. rate cuts, and growing corporate adoption in the mix, Rietveld says the smart money will be buying in fear… while retail might be selling too soon.
