Major asset managers are now vying to introduce the first spot XRP exchange-traded funds (ETFs) in the U.S. in the wake of Bitcoin and Ether’s approvals in 2024.
The Chicago’s Cboe Exchange on Thursday submitted four separate filings to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, seeking approval for a rule change to list and trade spot XRP ETFs from four asset managers.
The filings effectively kick off the SEC’s review process under the agency’s new, more crypto-friendly acting chair, Mark Uyeda.
XRP ETF Race Is Officially On
Spot XRP ETFs are gaining significant traction in the U.S., with Cboe BZX Exchange filing 19b-4 filings on behalf of WisdomTree, Bitwise, 21Shares, and Canary Capital for ETFs tracking the price of XRP.
The 19b-4 filings, if approved, would lead to the first XRP ETFs in the United States. Unlike Bitcoin and Ethereum, XRP still lacks explicit regulatory clarity as it remains entangled in a securities-related legal battle.
All four applicants cited the July 2023 SEC v. Ripple ruling — which found XRP is not a security — to support their argument that XRP does not satisfy the legal definition of a security.
Cboe “believes it is applying proper legal standards in making a good faith determination that XRP is not under these circumstances a security under federal law,” the filings said.
The ETF filings come amid an ongoing SEC appeal of the Ripple ruling to the Second Circuit, in which the securities watchdog looks to overturn a previous court’s decision that programmatic sales to retail investors did not qualify as investment contract offerings.
Despite lacking an established CME futures market — an important requirement that the SEC had sought during the approvals for Bitcoin and Ethereum — the applicants argue that alternative measures like on-chain analytics, price monitoring, and market structure analysis offer adequate protection against potential fraud and manipulation.
Bitwise was the first to file paperwork with the SEC for permission to launch its XRP ETF, submitting its S-1 registration statement in October 2024. Canary Capital closely followed Bitwise, submitting an S-1 form for its own XRP fund days later. 21Shares and WisdomTree have also made their XRP ETF plans official with SEC filings. And crypto giant Grayscale recently applied to convert its XRP Trust into a spot ETF on New York Stock Exchange subsidiary NYSE Arca.
XRP, the third-biggest virtual coin, has jumped by 6.4% over the last day after a midweek dip. It’s still down 19.6% on the week after edging close to its long-held record high of $3.40 in mid-January.
XRP Prepping For 1,500% Jump Into Double Digits?
While the XRP price languishes below the $3 mark, some analysts foresee a potential bullish reversal in the near term.
Widely-followed analyst Egrag Crypto, for instance, has predicted that XRP could undergo a “1,500% pump” into double-digits in just four weeks. Egrag Crypto based his analysis on the Bull Market Support Band (BMSB) — a moving average support band that indicates whether the market is in a bull market or bear cycle.
He notes that XRP is currently positioned above the BMSB, signaling that the market is currently bullish. This bears similarities to the 2017 fractal when XRP reached the Purple Foundation and almost hit the BMSB, resulting in a spectacular 1,500% rally in the span of four weeks. This upsurge targeted the 1.618 Fibonacci extension level from the cycle low.
According to Egrag Crypto’s accompanying chart, XRP has dropped to the Purple Foundation of the currency cycle and touched the BMSB.
Should history repeat itself, the pundit expects XRP to grow by around 1500% over the next four weeks, just like in 2017.
