By Stacy Elliott
Ripple has said it'll invest in a newly-rebranded Bitwise Physical XRP ETP. The news has been a salve for the XRP price, which has shot up 7.2% to $1.43 at the time of writing, according to CoinGecko data. Today's surge puts it 26.8% higher than it was this time last week.
The
Bitwise Physical XRP ETP, which was previously called the European XRP
ETP, is part of the firm's broader suite of crypto asset funds. The
company also offers spot Ethereum and Bitcoin ETFs in the U.S..
Ripple
CEO Brad Garlinghouse said the decision to invest in the Bitwise fund,
which trades under the GXRP ticker, very much falls in line with the
surge in interest for exchange-traded products linked to crypto assets.
"With
the U.S. regulatory environment for crypto finally becoming more clear,
this trend is poised to accelerate, further driving demand for crypto
ETPs, such as the Bitwise Physical XRP ETP," he said in a press release.
"As one of the most valuable, liquid, and utility-driven digital
assets, XRP is at the forefront of this momentum, standing out as a
cornerstone for those seeking access to assets that are resilient and
have real-world utility."
Ripple
has been extremely careful over the years to emphasize that it is not
the issuer of XRP. The Ripple Network uses XRP as its native
cryptocurrency for international money transfers and currency exchanges.
The legality and security status of XRP is still the subject of what's
now a four-year-old Securities and Exchange Commission lawsuit.
Late last week the XRP price spiked to a 3-year-high of $1.49 after SEC Chair Gary Gensler announced that he would be stepping down
on January 20, the same day that president-elect Donald Trump is set to
be inaugurated for his second term. Investors seem confident that a SEC
without Gensler will lead to a speedier conclusion in the lawsuit.
Aside
from legal news, there's also been growing interest from other firms in
bringing a spot XRP exchange-traded fund to the U.S.
Just earlier this week, WisdomTree filed with the SEC to register an XRP ETF.
The
paperwork filed with the state of Delaware is the first step in getting
such a product approved. WisdomTree will have to make the filing with
Wall Street’s top regulator the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC)
to get the process officially moving.
Edited by Stacy Elliott.
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