On September 30, Bitwise submitted an application for an XRP exchange-traded fund (ETF) to Delaware’s Division of Corporations. This filing includes a registration for a Delaware statutory trust, a structure legally recognized for business operations.
Confirmation from Bitwise
Bitwise Chief Investment Officer Matt Hougan confirmed this development. He stated that the company would share more information in the coming days, as reported to CryptoSlate.
Ripple’s Background and Legal Developments
One notable example of a similar situation is the Grayscale Bitcoin Trust, which transitioned into an ETF in January. Additionally, on September 12, Grayscale introduced an XRP trust. These movements related to XRP followed a four-year dispute between Ripple Labs, the issuer of XRP, and the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The SEC partially won a motion for remedies, resulting in a fine of $125 million for Ripple. However, District Judge Analisa Torres ruled that XRP offerings to retail investors did not constitute the sale of unregistered securities.
Current XRP Price Trends
Despite these positive developments, the XRP price reflects overall market trends. As of this report, it stands at $0.6117, showing a decline of 2.6% in the last 24 hours, according to CryptoSlate data.
Challenges for New Crypto ETFs
Securing approval for a new crypto-related ETF not linked to Bitcoin (BTC) or Ethereum (ETH) may pose significant challenges. Nate Geraci, CEO of The ETF Store, expressed that gaining SEC approval for XRP ETF trading would likely require political support.
Bloomberg’s senior ETF analyst Eric Balchunas echoed this sentiment. He stated that the likelihood of a Solana ETF receiving approval in the U.S. is slim, describing it as having “a snowball’s chance in hell.” His comments followed applications by asset managers VanEck and 21Shares for Solana ETFs submitted in late July, just days after the first spot Ethereum ETFs began trading in the U.S.
Uncertain Regulatory Environment
Additionally, SEC Chairman Gary Gensler recently confirmed that Bitcoin is classified as a commodity. However, he declined to clarify which tokens might be considered securities during a Congress hearing on September 24. Therefore, the future of Solana ETFs and potential XRP ETFs remains uncertain under the current SEC leadership.
The post Bitwise registers XRP ETF trust filing in Delaware appeared first on CryptoSlate.
