Bitwise Investments has taken its first steps toward a potential XRP exchange-traded fund (ETF), with a filing on 30 September 2024 in Delaware. Listed under the State of Delaware’s Division of Corporations, the filing was confirmed by a Bitwise spokesperson to Cointelegraph. However, this move appears to be part of preliminary preparations, and it could be months before a formal application is submitted to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), if at all.
According to a report by Ana Paula Pereira for Cointelegraph, this development aligns with previous comments from Ripple CEO Brad Garlinghouse, who predicted in May during an interview at the Consensus 2024 conference that an XRP ETF was only a matter of time, especially after the successful introduction of spot Bitcoin and Ether ETFs in the United States. If approved, an XRP ETF would provide institutional investors with a secure, regulated avenue to invest in the cryptocurrency, potentially increasing trading volume and adoption.
The Cointelegraph report pointed out that although the Delaware filing is a significant early step, it doesn’t indicate an imminent SEC application. According to the report, the process could still be in the preparatory stages, and a formal filing could take months if it happens at all.
This news also stirs memories of the fake filing in November 2023 when an application for a “BlackRock iShares XRP Trust” briefly fueled XRP price gains of 12% before being debunked. Delaware authorities are still investigating that incident.
Meanwhile, Ripple continues to grapple with its legal battle against the SEC. Though the July 2023 ruling deemed XRP not a security in public exchanges, a recent September 2024 appeal has put the final decision on hold, delaying the ultimate outcome of the case.
Update on 2 October 2024 at 1:30 p.m. UTC
Earlier today, Bitwise issued a press release to confirm that it has indeed filed an initial registration statement on Form S-1 with the U.S. SEC for a spot XRP ETP.
Bitwise CEO Hunter Horsley had this to say:
“At Bitwise, we believe blockchains will usher in new, apolitical monetary assets and permissionless applications for the 21st century. It’s why for the past seven years we’ve helped investors access the opportunities in the space, and we’re excited to continue that work with our filing for a Bitwise XRP ETP.“
The press release went on to say:
“XRP is the digital asset that powers the XRP Ledger (“XRPL”) public blockchain. XRPL is best known for its role in facilitating cross-border payments and remittances, as well as newer capabilities that enable institutional participation in Decentralized Finance (“DeFi”), real-world asset tokenization, and EVM interoperability. XRPL typically processes transactions in seconds with fees under $0.01. It also has more than five million active wallets and a decade-long track record of reliability.“
Nate Geraci, President of The ETF Store, explained on social media platform X why he found this move by Bitwise noteworthy:
Featured Image via Pixabay
