- Sagar Shah, a former Ripple executive, said: $XRP Digital asset vaults offer more strategic utility than spot $XRP Despite strong demand from institutional investors for ETF products, ETFs.
- Mr. Shah argued that: $XRP ETFs provide regulated exposure, and DATs can deploy assets on-chain to generate yield and support deeper ecosystem adoption.
Institutional desire for regulation $XRP The exposure is clearly there. What is currently being debated is what kind of vehicle will actually meet more of that demand.
Sagar Shah, head of business development at Evernorth and former Ripple executive, said: $XRP Digital asset vaults (DATs) offer a more convenient structure than Spot. $XRP Even as inflows to ETFs continue to rise, investment in exchange-traded funds has increased. His point isn’t that ETFs don’t have value. That means a more aggressive financial model stops where it begins.
“We had net inflows of over $1 billion.” $XRP “This shows that financial institutions want exposure, but ETFs are a passive wrapper,” Shah said.
ETFs give you access, but little else
spot $XRP ETFs are constructed in a very familiar way. they buy $XRP It is held on behalf of investors and provides both institutional and retail buyers with a regulated route to assets without the need for direct custody or on-chain interaction.
This model has already attracted a lot of money. $XRP Net inflows into the ETF were reportedly $1.21 billion, with assets under management approaching $950 million. However, it is still only about 1.15%. $XRP‘s total market capitalization leaves plenty of room for other types of products to compete for attention.
The appeal of ETFs is clear. Access is simplified. These fit neatly into traditional portfolios. And for large investors, that wrapper is often just as important as the asset itself.
What DAT aims to do is $XRP Works on-chain
Mr. Shah’s DAT claims depend on what happens after he is exposed. Unlike ETFs, digital asset treasuries are designed for active participation. $XRP ecosystem. This means that assets held by the Treasury could potentially be deployed on-chain to generate revenue and support broader network usage.
This difference makes the comparison more interesting. DAT does more than just hold $XRP as a passive balance sheet asset. At least in theory, they can become part of the operating layer of the ecosystem while maintaining the transparency that comes with a public company structure.
For investors, it creates a different proposition. ETFs may continue to become easier to implement, and they are clearly already playing a role. But DAT is being pitched as more flexible, more complex and, from Shah’s perspective, better able to tune how digital assets actually work.

