Cryptocurrency fund manager Bitwise Asset Management has filed for an XRP Spot ETF in the United States, in a move that Ripple supporters see as a significant development.
The filing comes amid Ripple’s ongoing legal battles with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), which has accused the company of raising $1.3 billion through unregistered XRP sales.
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In 2023, a court ruling found that XRP is not a security when traded on public exchanges. However, institutional sales of XRP were deemed to violate securities laws because they are considered investment contracts under U.S. law and require proper registration. The legal dispute resulted in Ripple being ordered to pay a $125 million fine. Despite the ruling on secondary sales, it remains unclear whether this will affect the SEC’s decision on Bitwise’s ETF application.
Katalin Tischhauser, head of investment research at Sygnum, explained that Bitwise’s XRP Spot ETF application may not hinge on whether the SEC considers XRP a security. Instead, it focuses on the SEC’s requirements for a “regulatory market.” Currently, only Bitcoin and Ethereum have regulated futures markets on the Chicago Mercantile Exchange (CME), which has been a key factor in securing ETF approvals for these assets.
Tischhauser suggested that Bitwise may have filed the XRP Spot ETF application to “start the clock” in anticipation of a possible change in SEC policy after the 2024 US presidential election if Trump wins.
Ripple CEO Brad Garlinghouse has previously stated that XRP and other cryptocurrency ETFs are “inevitable” following the approval of Ethereum ETFs earlier this year. While Bitcoin ETFs have attracted significant interest, attracting $18 billion in fresh capital, it remains unclear whether demand for an XRP ETF will reach that level.
*This is not investment advice.