Crypto News: Solana ETFs Draw $1.45B Institutional Interest as New Crypto Protocol Surpasses 19K Holders

U.S. spot Solana ETFs are attracting strong interest from crypto-native institutional investors, with cumulative inflows reaching about $1.45 billion, according to a Bloomberg report. The demand has remained resilient even as SOL has fallen more than 50% since October, highlighting continued institutional participation in the asset. In contrast, XRP ETFs appear to have a more retail-driven investor base, with only around 16% of assets linked to 13F filers, while the majority is likely held by individual investors.

As institutional and retail flows shape different ETF markets, activity across the broader crypto sector continues to expand, with a new crypto protocol reporting more than 19,000 holders as its ecosystem develops.

Solana and XRP ETFs Attract Different Investor Bases

U.S. exchange-traded funds tied to Solana (SOL) and XRP are attracting investors despite recent declines in crypto prices, but the two products are drawing different types of buyers. According to a report from Bloomberg Intelligence, Solana ETFs are seeing stronger participation from institutional crypto investors, while XRP ETFs appear to rely more heavily on retail demand.

Data shows that spot Solana ETFs have accumulated around $1.45 billion in total inflows since launch, with about $173 million added in 2026 alone. Approximately 49% of the ETF assets were identified through 13F filings, which are regulatory disclosures required for large investment managers. Investment advisers accounted for roughly $270 million in exposure, while hedge funds held about $186 million, indicating that crypto-focused institutional firms and market makers currently dominate early participation.

Despite the inflows, analysts note that broader institutional adoption is still developing. Solana has dropped more than 50% since October, when spot ETFs launched, yet investor demand has remained relatively resilient. Bloomberg analysts suggest that some inflows may reflect investors moving existing SOL holdings into the ETF structure rather than entirely new capital entering the market.

In contrast, XRP ETFs show a smaller institutional footprint. Only about 16% of XRP ETF assets were tied to 13F filers, suggesting that the majority of holdings are likely controlled by retail investors who are not required to report positions. Even so, XRP funds attracted more than $1.4 billion in assets within six weeks of launching in November, and those assets have largely remained stable into 2026 despite the token declining about 26% this year.

Mutuum Finance (MUTM)
Mutuum Finance, an Ethereum-based lending and borrowing protocol, reports more than 19,000 token holders as its ecosystem continues to grow. The project's native MUTM token is currently priced at $0.04, with over $20.8 million raised to date.

The platform is designed to allow users to lend and borrow crypto assets through decentralized liquidity pools. When users supply assets to the protocol, they receive mtTokens, which represent their share of the deposited funds. These tokens track the value of the supplied assets and accumulate yield over time as borrowers pay interest on the liquidity they access.

For instance, if a user deposits USDT into a lending pool, the position can generate yield depending on pool utilization and borrowing demand. Interest paid by borrowers is distributed among liquidity providers, allowing lenders to earn returns while maintaining control over their assets through smart contracts.

Peer-to-Contract and Peer-to-Peer Lending Models

Mutuum Finance supports two lending structures: Peer-to-Contract (P2C) and Peer-to-Peer (P2P) markets. Under the P2C model, users deposit commonly used assets such as ETH or stablecoins into shared liquidity pools that borrowers can access. Interest rates within these pools adjust automatically depending on how much liquidity is being utilized.

The P2P model introduces a more flexible lending framework where lenders and borrowers can negotiate loan terms directly. This includes defining interest rates, collateral types, and loan duration. This structure can also support a wider range of assets, including memecoins such as Dogecoin (DOGE) or Shiba Inu (SHIB), allowing participants to create customized lending agreements depending on the asset and risk level involved.

The protocol's lending and borrowing smart contracts were reviewed through an independent security audit conducted by Halborn, a blockchain security firm that has audited major crypto projects, including Ripple (XRP).
Shortly after the audit process was completed, the team launched the Mutuum Finance V1 protocol on the Sepolia testnet, allowing users to explore the platform's core mechanics in a testing environment using testnet tokens rather than real assets.

The current testnet version includes several core components of the lending system:
mtTokens - Tokens minted when users supply assets to liquidity pools. They represent the user's share of deposited funds and accumulate yield as interest from borrowers accrues.

Debt Tokens - Tokens issued when users borrow assets from the protocol. They track the borrowed amount along with the interest that accumulates over time.

Stability Factor - A risk monitoring metric that measures the safety level of a borrowing position relative to its collateral value.

Safe Mode Borrow Presets - Predefined borrowing profiles that allow users to select different risk levels when opening a borrowing position.

Automated Liquidator Bot - A system that monitors borrowing positions and automatically initiates liquidations if collateral values fall below required thresholds, helping maintain the protocol's stability.

In the current version of the protocol running on the Sepolia testnet, users are able to explore and test these core features before Mutuum Finance transitions to a full mainnet deployment. The testnet environment allows participants to interact with lending, borrowing, and liquidity pool mechanics using test tokens, helping the development team gather feedback and refine the protocol's functionality.

While Solana and XRP ETFs continue to attract different types of investors in the evolving crypto ETF market, development across decentralized finance is also progressing. Projects such as Mutuum Finance are expanding lending infrastructure and testing core protocol features as they prepare for wider deployment, reflecting ongoing activity across both traditional crypto investment products and DeFi platforms.

For more information about Mutuum Finance (MUTM) visit the links below:
Website: https://www.mutuum.com
Linktree: https://linktr.ee/mutuumfinance

About Mutuum Finance

Mutuum Finance (MUTM) is an Ethereum-based, non-custodial decentralized finance (DeFi) protocol designed for lending and borrowing digital assets without intermediaries.

Contact Information
J. Weir
Contact@mutuum.com

This release was published on openPR.