SEC Approves ProShares’ XRP Futures ETFs

Key Takeaways:

• ProShares’ XRP Futures ETFs will begin trading on Apr 30; however, they are not spot ETFs.
• XRP’s price rose by more than 6% due to market confusion over the type of ETFs.
• Institutional interest in XRP is increasing, which is an inflection point for Ripple and its token.

On the evening of April 27, news spread that the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) had approved three ProShares XRP ETFs. Markets quickly reacted. XRP’s price jumped 4% on April 28 after news of the SEC approval, though many traders had mistakenly bet on a spot ETF, not approved.

The approved products are futures-backed ETFs: Ultra XRP ETF (2x long), Short XRP ETF (1x short), and Ultra Short XRP ETF (2x short), based on XRP futures contracts, not physical XRP. The SEC’s framework for approving futures ETFs is much less cumbersome — if the regulator doesn’t challenge the filing within a certain time frame, it goes into effect automatically.

Despite the misunderstanding, XRP’s resilience suggests that optimism remains intact, especially as the ruling on Grayscale’s application for a spot XRP ETF is set for no later than May 22.

A futures ETF would enable one to gain access to the price of XRP without having to purchase the token itself. The new ProShares ETFs are going to be following XRP’s performance based on the XRP Index.

There were losers, however, and most of the top cryptocurrencies were trading in the red on April 28 — XRP being the strongest dip out of the lot. XRP’s price rose to $2.28, a 6.35% gain, with its market cap increasing by 2.67% to $131.06 billion and trading volume surging 53.58% to $3.92 billion.

Bitcoin dropped 1.79% to $93,081.91, reflecting the general bearish mood in the market. XRP’s green appearance in a sea of red goes to show the major psychological shot in the arm the approval provided — even though it wasn’t the spot product many had hoped for.

Ripple Labs ended its legal battle with the SEC after a partial win and a $125M settlement. With the SEC ditching its appeal in March 2024, XRP is now free to meet with greater acceptance and launch new financial services.

The approval of XRP futures ETFs suggests Wall Street is embracing Ripple’s technology, potentially paving the way for a spot ETF approval.

The approval of the XRP futures ETF comes at a crucial moment. The state of regulation around digital assets has improved thanks to the arrival of crypto-friendly U.S. President Donald Trump and the appointment of Paul Atkins as SEC Chairman.

Globally, XRP’s momentum is building outside the US. Hashdex, in Brazil, launched the world’s first spot XRP ETF on the country’s primary stock exchange last week, providing a regulated way for Brazilian investors to add XRP directly to their portfolios.

In response to growing institutional demand for non-Bitcoin, non-Ethereum crypto offerings, CME Group is planning to introduce XRP futures contracts on May 19.

Investors who wish to trade the ProShares XRP Futures ETFs will need to buy and sell through brokers, as ProShares does not offer direct trading. Rather, they have their trades executed on platforms like Fidelity, Robinhood, Vanguard or TD Ameritrade. Once they have made a deposit with their broker of choice, users can search for the ETF code and start investing from April 30.

More News: XRP Spotlight: Brazil’s B3 Debuts Pioneering Spot ETF

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