XRP recovers after a 63% drawdown as retail sentiment drops to a two-year low while one Wall Street metric climbs

XRP lost 63% of its value over several difficult months, putting significant pressure on investor confidence. In April, the asset began recovering ground. I see several drivers behind this move. New privacy features aimed at institutional users have entered the picture. Retail adoption in Asian markets has picked up. Exchange-traded fund flows have also reversed direction. Cryptorank data shows XRP is on track for its first positive monthly close since September 2025. With investors rotating back toward risk assets, XRP has gained over 2% in April, sitting at $1.35 at the time of writing. Bitcoin has cleared a multi-month resistance range, raising questions about whether the former all-time high zone can hold as support and sustain a continuation higher. The price action in XRP reflects broader shifts in capital flows and sentiment. SoSoValue reports that US-based XRP exchange-traded funds recorded approximately $12 million in net inflows during April. This reverses March, when macroeconomic concerns triggered over $31 million in outflows. Demand extends beyond the US. CoinShares data indicates global XRP exchange-traded products have seen roughly $20 million in net inflows this month. However, while institutions accumulate, retail traders appear fatigued. Santiment data shows negative sentiment around XRP has reached its third-highest level in two years. Fear, uncertainty, and doubt dominate social media discussions despite the price recovery. This divergence between institutional inflows and retail sentiment is worth monitoring. A practical next step would be to watch whether the inflow trend sustains through month-end or if retail exhaustion drags prices back down.