Crypto asset manager Grayscale has filed for an XRP exchange-traded fund, joining a long list of companies applying for crypto ETFs to take advantage of the Trump Administration’s friendlier stance on crypto.
Grayscale, one of the largest crypto ETF issuers, filed an application with the Securities and Exchange Commission on Thursday to convert its XRP trust into an ETF that could be traded on the New York Stock Exchange. The trust currently holds about $16.1 million invested by accounts “seeking exposure to XRP without the cost and complexity of purchasing the asset directly,” according to the filing.
“As an innovative and future-forward asset manager, Grayscale is committed to continuously identifying opportunities to offer products that meet client demand and expand investor access to digital assets and the broader DeFi ecosystem,” Dave LaValle, Global Head of ETFs at Grayscale, said in a statement.
The filing is just one of many applications for new crypto ETFs—including those for Solana, Dogecoin and Litecoin—that have been submitted by various companies since Trump was elected, ushering in a new era of industry-friendly regulation. Crypto bulls are anxiously awaiting the appointment of Trump’s pick for SEC chair, crypto advocate Paul Atkins, who many believe will take a more lenient approach to securities enforcement than the previous chair, Gary Gensler.
Still, Bloomberg analyst James Seyffart cautions against being overly optimistic at this time. While he believes it is possible that XRP ETFs will be approved in 2025, he says ETFs for other cryptocurrencies will likely come first. He specifically noted Litecoin, Bitcoin’s lesser-known relative.
Seyffart says that ongoing SEC lawsuits involving XRP assert that the cryptocurrency is a security, barring it from being approved for an ETF. If Atkins is confirmed, it is likely that he will either wind down or drop these suits entirely, but it’s unclear when that will happen. The same applies for Solana ETFs, which Grayscale has also filed for.
“There’s some more work that needs to be done on that front that doesn’t need to happen with something like Litecoin,” Seyffart said. “The SEC has never called Litecoin a security so, I wouldn’t be surprised if you see Litecoin come first.”
However, Monica Long, president of Ripple, the company behind XRP, told Bloomberg earlier this month that she thinks an XRP ETF is “next in line” and will be approved “very soon.”
Other asset managers that have filed for XRP ETFs include Bitwise, Wisdom Tree, and Canary.
