Ripple
Why an XRP spot ETF seems far-fetched right now
Posted:
| Last updated: February 6th, 2024
Journalist
- Ripple was seemingly looking to boost crypto-related ETF initiatives.
- Analysts have aired their apprehensions about such a possibility.
With the spot Bitcoin [BTC] ETFs up and running, and Ethereum [ETH] ETFs in the pipeline, a certain section of the crypto market has turned its attention to the possibility of even a spot Ripple [XRP] ETF.
Is the hype justified?
A large part of the expectations stemmed from Ripple’s legal victory against the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), which removed doubts about the “security” status of XRP.
However, a Fox Business journalist, who has been closely following the developments the developments around spot crypto ETFs, provided a reality check to these speculations.
Eleanor Terrett said that in order to launch an XRP spot ETF, a futures ETF would first need to be in place.
She reminded everyone that Bitcoin spot ETFs got a go-ahead partially due to SEC considering the CME Bitcoin futures market good enough to provide monitoring for fraud and manipulation.
“If XRP gets a futures ETF then it’s a step in the right direction to one day getting a spot,” Terrett opined.
Her comments came in response to a job description provided by Ripple, wherein the company was scouting for a resource who could “drive cryptocurrency-related ETF initiatives.”
Wishful thinking?
The discussions around XRP ETFs have been building for some time now. In fact, around mid-November, a fake news on the launch of an XRP ETF by BlackRock sent the coin soaring by 12%, wiping out millions of futures traders’ investments.
When asked about the prospect of an XRP ETF in the near future recently, BlackRock CEO Larry Fink declined to give a definite answer, saying, “I can’t talk about that.”
Is your portfolio green? Check out the XRP Profit Calculator
But contrary to what XRP proponents might want to believe, an XRP ETF might be too far-fetched at this stage.
Bloomberg ETF analyst James Seyffart aired his apprehensions about such a possibility months ago.
“Don’t think there’s enough to launch an XRP ETF with this SEC. And there seems to be essentially zero demand from issuers to try.”
