Grayscale’s XRP trust launch ignites 8% increase and ETF speculation

Grayscale has introduced a new crypto investment trust fund for XRP, according to a Sept. 12 statement.

Following the news, XRP's value surged by 8%, reaching a multi-week high of $0.58, according to CryptoSlate's data.

XRP Trust

The firm stated that the XRP Trust operates similarly to its other single-asset investment trusts, focusing exclusively on XRP, the token that powers the Ripple-backed XRP Ledger (XRPL) blockchain.

Rayhaneh Sharif-Askary, Grayscale's Head of Product & Research, emphasized the Trust's importance by highlighting XRP's real-world utility. She said:

“By facilitating cross-border payments that take just seconds to complete, XRP has the potential to transform the legacy financial infrastructure.”

The Trust is available for daily subscriptions from eligible individual and accredited institutional investors.

Meanwhile, this launch follows Grayscale's recent introduction of single-asset trusts for MakerDAO, Bittensor, SUI, and others over the past two months. Market analysts view these new products as significant expansions of Grayscale's crypto offerings, which had been primarily centered on its Bitcoin and Ethereum Trusts that were recently uplisted into exchange-traded funds (ETFs) products.

XRP ETF

The XRP community speculates that this product could lead to the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) approving an XRP ETF in the future.

According to them, the recent approval of Bitcoin and Ethereum-related ETFs earlier this year shows there is room for more digital assets like theirs.

However, Nate Geraci, the President of the ETF store, pointed out that this might not be straightforward as an approval “will need some political help as well.”

Moreover, Ripple's ongoing legal battle with the SEC poses further challenges to an XRP ETF. In addition, market analysts believe the Gary Gensler-led Commission is unlikely to approve more crypto ETFs beyond Bitcoin and Ethereum under current conditions.

Some experts suggest that the chances for approval may improve if legislative changes clarify that most digital assets are not securities.