Ripple milestone: First XRP ETF launched in the U.S.
After 'Black Monday' in the crypto market, when Bitcoin took a big hit, XRP also gave up substantial ground.
In the wake of 'Black Monday' in the crypto market, where Bitcoin took a big hit, XRP also had to give up substantial ground. Ripple's coin price briefly slid to $1.65, down more than 50% from its spectacular January high. Still, there are early signs of a cautious rebound, not just in stocks but also in crypto. XRP is back to $1.90 and slowly eyeing the $2 mark. The reason? A notable first: the launch of the very first XRP ETF in the United States.
Asset manager Teucrium has introduced the first Ripple index fund on the New York Stock Exchange Arca (NYSE Arca), with the ticker symbol XXRP. It's a leveraged product, the Teucrium 2x Long Daily XRP ETF, designed for traders looking to play XRP moves on the short term. Teucrium promises daily exposure to double XRP's return, in exchange for an annual management fee of 1.85%.
A surprising move
The launch of this fund View post on X also drew ETF analysts' attention. Bloomberg expert Eric Balchunas called it 'notable, perhaps even a first, that the first ETF for a new digital asset is immediately a leveraged product.' But this could just be the beginning. According to the decentralized betting market Polymarket, there’s as much as a 75% chance a traditional XRP Spot ETF will appear on the U.S. market this year.
Ripple vs. the SEC: the end in sight
While the impact of this first ETF on XRP's price will be limited, partly because it's a niche product from a relatively small issuer, the signal is much bigger. With Bitcoin and Ethereum, futures ETFs appeared first before the popular spot variants were approved by the U.S. SEC. If XRP follows the same path, JPMorgan analysts expect XRP spot ETFs could attract $4-8 billion in fresh capital in their first year.
Sentiment among Ripple supporters is upbeat. Lawyer John Deaton, long one of the loudest voices in Ripple's legal battle with the SEC, reacted emotionally on X:
The long-running case is nearing its end, as Ripple won’t appeal and has agreed to a $50 million fine. Yet the end of the case also comes with a downside: attention on XRP seems to be fading. Intense debates on social media and top lawyers’ public involvement have given way to silence. XRP search interest has fallen sharply since January.
Moreover, there was no groundbreaking legal precedent as many hoped. Ripple wasn’t fully cleared of the accusations. On the contrary: under Rule 506 of the SEC’s Regulation D, the firm was labeled as a "bad actor," a label that could influence future price action.
