- Optimism for XRP ETF is riding high.
- Trump wants the US to stock XRP, among other major cryptocurrencies.
- JPMorgan forecasts an inflow of up to $8 billion to XRP ETFs if approved.
The buzz about an XRP exchange-traded fund is back.
Bouyed by President Donald Trump’s plan to include XRP in a national crypto reserve, investors are betting the development will improve the chances for an ETF this year.
On Polymarket, punters now put the odds of the Securities and Exchange Commission approving XRP ETFs at 78%, an 8 percentage point jump since Trump’s announcement on Sunday.
XRP outperforms
In February, Bloomberg Intelligence analysts Eric Balchunas and James Seyffart said there was a 65% chance for approval of ETFs for XRP.
But the reserve idea, which remains fuzzy with little detail on how it would work or be funded, is stoking excitement.
The price of XRP, which Ripple uses to facilitate cross border payments, has jumped 6.4% this year compared to a 4.7% decline in the price of Bitcoin.
“Including XRP in a strategic reserve strengthens the case for XRP ETF applications by helping to resolve some key regulatory concerns,” Jonathan de Wet, the chief investment officer at Zerocap, a crypto trading firm, told DL News earlier this week.
The SEC is reviewing five ETF applications for XRP filed by 21Share, Grayscale, CoinShares, WisdomTree, and Canary Capital. The agency has until mid-October to decide on those applications.
Flurry of altcoins
Those filings are part of a flurry of altcoin ETF applications before the SEC.
Meryem Habibi, chief revenue officer at crypto payment gateway Bitpace, said Trump’s endorsement of altcoins like XRP for a possible US crypto reserve should accelerate the approval of altcoin ETFs.
Last year, the SEC approved Bitcoin and Ethereum ETFs.
Bitcoin ETFs debuted to huge success and accrued $107 billion in assets under management ― a record for the ETF market.
The massive influx of institutional capital into Bitcoin ETFs helped drive 150% price surge last year.
Led by BlackRock’s iShares Bitcoin Trust ETF, which boasts $50 billion in net assets, the funds in total accounted for 6% of Bitcoin’s total market value.
Altcoin sceptics
Ethereum’s launch wasn’t as splashy.
Despite the advent of Ether ETFs, the second biggest cryptocurrency failed to hit an all-time high in the Trump-fuelled rally in the fourth quarter.
Some analysts and investors are sceptical altcoin ETFs will fulfil soaring expectations.
Even so, analysts at JPMorgan predict that XRP ETFs could attract $8 billion in investor flows within the first year.
“This is likely to result in a surge in price if prior examples of Bitcoin and Ethereum ETF approvals are to be taken into account,” Jacob Joseph, senior research analyst at crypto data provider CCData, previously told DL News.
Crypto market movers
- Bitcoin has surged 7.3% over the past 24 hours to reach $89,799.
- Ethereum has also risen over the same period to $2,228.
What we’re reading
- Crypto scores win after US Senate votes to repeal DeFi tax rule ― DL News
- Why Trump May Have Chosen This Week to Announce a Strategic Crypto Reserve ― Unchained
- Tariff shockwaves hit markets ― Milk Road
- Bitcoin Has Declined 20%. How Soon Could the BTC Price Revive? ― Unchained
- How one trader made a $7m killing on Trump’s strategic reserve call ― DL News
Osato Avan-Nomayo is our Nigeria-based DeFi correspondent. He covers DeFi and tech. Got a tip? please contact him at osato@dlnews.com.