The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission has acknowledged and is also set to review more crypto ETF proposals, this time, it’s for Ripple’s controversial crypto, XRP.
This development has sparked optimism within the XRP community as many deem it a sign that a green light is imminent.
XRP ETF One Step Closer After SEC’s Inital Nod
Ripple’s XRP recently made waves as the United States Securities and Exchange Commission acknowledged Grayscale’s proposal for a spot XRP exchange-traded fund.
In a 19b-4 form posted on Thursday acknowledging NYSE Arca’s application on behalf of crypto giant Grayscale, the SEC asked the public to file comments within 21 days of the proposal’s publication in the Federal Register.
A day later, the regulator also acknowledged the XRP ETF filing from asset manager 21Shares. A 19b-4 filing is the second part of a two-step process for proposing a spot crypto ETF. Publication in the SEC’s Federal Register kicks off the agency’s approval process.
If approved, it would represent huge validation of XRP as an investable asset, potentially widening institutional participation and boosting market liquidity. An XRP ETF would also set the altcoin up for a parabolic rally.
XRP traded higher at $2.80 at publication time, up 2.9% on a 24-hour basis. It was one of the best-performing top 10 cryptocurrencies by market cap. XRP is the third largest cryptocurrency by market value, according to CoinGecko.
2025 XRP ETF Approval Odds
Ripple CEO Brad Garlinghouse commented on the SEC’s decision to acknowledge the XRP ETFs. Garlinghouse believes such a development was “inevitable” even though there were “some vocal assertions to the contrary.”
He has frequently predicted that American spot XRP ETF would be approved even though it seemed highly unlikely given the ongoing regulatory uncertainty surrounding the underlying asset.
The SEC lodged a lawsuit against Ripple in December 2020 for allegedly breaking federal securities laws by raising $1.3 billion in an unregistered securities offering to raise funds. Ripple partially won the court case in August 2023 and XRP was declared a non-security when sold to institutional investors by a federal judge.
The SEC appealed the case on Jan. 15 — just five days before Donald ***** was sworn into office as the U.S. President — claiming that Ripple’s sale of XRP to retail investors satisfied the Howey Test.
Ripple President Monica Long has also voiced confidence that the XRP token is next in line to get spot ETF approval.
As ZyCrypto recently reported, Bloomberg analysts James Seyffart and Eric Balchunas estimated a 65% chance for an XRP ETF to be greenlit by the SEC in 2025. However, these odds are likely to skyrocket after the agency’s recent acknowledgment. The SEC, of course, could still reject a spot XRP ETF, but many are pinning their hopes on the new pro-crypto administration of Donald *****.