Grayscale Unveils First XRP Trust In The US, ETF Ahead?

Grayscale, a leading cryptocurrency asset manager, unveiled the first XRP trust in the US, propelling the token’s price by 8% to $0.57 at press time.

Digital assets manager Grayscale today announced the launch of a closed-end XRP trust in the US, paving the way for institutional investors to gain exposure to the top 10 cryptocurrencies, an official announcement by Ripple confirms. 

Commenting on the development, Rayhaneh Sharif-Askary, Grayscale’s Head of Product & Research, said:

We believe Grayscale XRP Trust gives investors exposure to a protocol with an important real-world use case. By facilitating cross-border payments that take just seconds to complete, XRP has the potential to transform the legacy financial infrastructure.

For the uninitiated, a closed-end trust differs from an exchange-traded fund (ETF) because it allows certain investors to gain exposure to the underlying asset with relatively fewer regulatory constraints. On the other hand, an ETF approval requires several checks from regulators – in this case, from the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) before they are made available to investors.

That being said, it’s worth highlighting that an approved trust holds the potential to transform into an ETF with the required regulatory approvals. For example, Grayscale’s single-asset investment trusts – Bitcoin (BTC) and Ethereum (ETH) – were given the go-ahead to become ETFs earlier this year. 

As a result, it won’t be surprising to see an XRP ETF in the US sometime soon. The fact that Grayscale has published an intended four-phase product life cycle for its newly unveiled XRP trust further gives weight to the possibility of an XRP ETF shortly.

Interestingly, the XRP trust’s launch comes when its parent company, Ripple, is tackling multiple legal battles with the US SEC. XRP’s price following the announcement skyrocketed by 8%, currently at $0.57.

Featured image from Zebpay.com, Chart from Tradingview