XRP
Several institutions have filed for an $XRP ETF and Grayscale is joining the troop. IBTimes US

KEY POINTS

  • NYSE Arca posted it 19b-4 filing with the SEC Thursday
  • "XRP ETF" was trending overnight on X as the crypto space absorbed the news
  • $XRP slightly climbed Thursday night as the $XRP Army celebrated the development
  • Several other institutions already made $XRP ETF filings, including $BTC ETF competitor Bitwise

After over a decade of "HODLing" their cryptocurrencies and experiencing the ups and downs following Ripple's intense legal battle with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), longtime XRP holders are one step closer to getting an XRP exchange-traded fund (ETF).

On Thursday, NYSE Arca submitted a 19b-4 filing to convert crypto-focused asset management firm Grayscale's XRP Trust into an XRP ETF, allowing Grayscale to become the latest addition to the list of institutions seeking to issue an XRP ETF.

A Grayscale $XRP ETF

As per details from the document, Grayscale's XRP Trust has some $16 million in assets under management (AUM) and the document noted that the reason for the proposed conversion is to allow broader access to XRP while investors benefit from the guardrails of securities oversight.

The term XRP ETF was trending wildly on X Thursday night as news of the filing spread across the Elon Musk-owned social media platform.

XRP, the native token of the XRP Ledger, slightly climbed on the news, logging a 1.7% spike in the day and trading at $3.14 Thursday night.

XRP price Jan 30 2025 night
$XRP price after news of the NYSE development, on the night of Jan. 30, 2025. IBTimes US

Crypto Reacts to Grayscale's Move

Veteran crypto holders, even those who hold other crypto coins, know how the XRP Army – the XRP "maxis" – displayed patience and selling restraint over the years to hold on to their tokens even when the SEC's late 2020 lawsuit wiped a massive portion of the crypto asset's market cap.

Kraken Exchange, one of the leading crypto exchanges in the world, posted a meme to commemorate the development.

Well-followed crypto trader Olivia said the development isn't just big for the XRP community, but the broader crypto space as well, seemingly referring to the growing interest in altcoin ETFs.

For some users, Grayscale should reduce their fees to get more people interested in their products and not be drawn to other issuers who have cheaper management options.

A Wave of $XRP ETF Issuer Applications

This isn't the first time XRP was trending due to an XRP ETF filing. In October, the world's third-largest crypto asset by market cap was also hot on CT (Crypto Twitter) after Bitwise made its filing. Bitwise, like Grayscale, is an issuer of spot Bitcoin and Ethereum ETFs.

Since Bitwise's first-mover filing, several other financial institutions have filed to issue an XRP ETF, including Canary Capital, which has also applied to issue a host of other altcoin ETFs.

21Shares, another notable issuer of BTC ETFs, also caught up with the race, filing for an XRP ETF a few days before the 2024 U.S. elections. At the time of its filing, 21Shares pointed out that the XRP Ledger has higher transaction speeds and is tagged a non-security when offered on exchanges.

Other institutions riding the XRP ETF wave are CoinShares and Tuttle Capital. It remains to be seen whether other institutions will join in. Eyes are especially on BlackRock, the recognized "King" of Bitcoin ETFs.

Originally published on IBTimes