State of Delaware refers fake BlackRock XRP Trust filing to Department of Justice State of Delaware refers fake BlackRock XRP Trust filing to Department of Justice
The filing, which had been submitted under the name of a BlackRock managing director, made waves yesterday before being revealed as fake.
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Updated: Nov. 14, 2023 at 11:44 pm UTC
Cover art/illustration via CryptoSlate. Image includes combined content which may include AI-generated content.
The State of Delaware has initiated action against a fraudulent XRP exchange-traded fund (ETF) filing it received, according to reports from Bloomberg on Nov. 14.
On Nov. 13, BlackRock appeared to submit a registration to Delware’s Division of Corporations, indicating it is pursuing an XRP exchange-traded fund (ETF). However, later developments revealed that the filing was falsely submitted by an unknown party.
Now, Delaware is taking steps to investigate the fake submission. Bloomberg Terminal cited a statement from an official who said that Delaware has “referred the matter to the Department of Justice.” That statement came from Rony Baltazar-Lopen, the director of policy and communications at Delaware’s Office of the Secretary of State.
Bloomberg added that the issue is being handled by the state’s own Department of Justice — presumably the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Delaware.
The price of XRP has experienced rollercoaster movements since the filing first circulated, jumping from $0.65 to $0.71 and immediately crashing back $0.65 as the filing was revealed to be fake.
Some still believe filing is real
Despite widespread reports that BlackRock’s filing is false, some XRP and Ripple proponents have suggested that the filing is legitimate.
XRP commentator Alex Cobb observed that the filing can still be seen on Delaware’s Department of Corporations website. Elsewhere, @SinceXRP noted that BlackRock has not publicly denied the filing (despite making private statements to news sources, CryptoSlate among them).
Finally, @XRPCryptoWolf speculated that if investigations are unable to identify the party that submitted the registration, BlackRock may have submitted the filing and simply walked back its plans to offer the product privately.
Regardless of speculations, CryptoSlate can confirm, having received private confirmation from BlackRock, that the XRP ETF filing is indeed false.
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Mike Dalton
Before transitioning to crypto writing in 2018, Mike studied library and information sciences. Currently, he resides on Canada's West Coast.
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Jacob Oliver
Jacob Oliver is a recovering academic and English teacher turned crypto journalist and web3 writer. He holds a Ph.D. from the University of Washington.
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BlackRock, synonymous with global asset management, is an American multinational investment management corporation based in New York City.