The United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has acknowledged the request from Cboe BZX to list 21Shares’ XRP exchange-traded fund (ETF). This development, marked by a regulatory filing on February 14, signifies progress for exchanges in the US seeking to list ETFs encompassing spot XRP, the native token of Ripple’s XRP Ledger. This movement also reflects an evolving stance from the SEC on cryptocurrency oversight as President Donald Trump commences his second term, following a partial resolution to a legal battle initiated in 2020 when the SEC accused Ripple of issuing unregistered securities with their XRP token launch. The court subsequently determined that XRP is not inherently a security, though it can be considered as such under specific circumstances.
Positioning as a commodity trust would categorize XRP with spot Bitcoin (BTC) and Ether (ETH) ETFs, which the US markets welcomed last year. 21Shares submitted its proposal to list its Core XRP Trust ETF in November prior to Trump’s election victory on November 5, pledging to transform America into the “world’s crypto capital” by appointing pro-industry figures to regulatory roles.
On February 6, Cboe’s request involved permission to list four spot XRP ETFs, including the 21Shares Core XRP Trust. The SEC’s engagement with cryptocurrency extends to a plethora of ETF filings as linked to expectations of a more favorable regulatory environment under the Trump administration. This includes applications for ETFs dedicated to memecoins such as Dogecoin (DOGE) and altcoins like Solana (SOL) and Litecoin (LTC).
In parallel, current crypto ETFs primarily focusing on spot BTC and ETH are exploring enhancements like staking and in-kind redemptions. The market is also poised in anticipation of regulatory clearance for multiple planned crypto index ETFs, designed to embrace a broader spectrum of digital assets. Notably, the first spot crypto index fund, Hashdex Nasdaq Crypto Index US ETF, commenced trading on Nasdaq as of February 14.
