NEW YORK — The XRP Ledger’s means to help each worth switch and real-world funds from a single platform might give it a structural benefit within the rising crypto ETF market, in line with derivatives alternate Bitnomial founder and CEO Luke Hoersten.
“What I believe is exclusive about XRP and RLUSD is you’ve gotten a single ledger that’s driving a two-prong technique, one among wealth storage and switch in XRP, and the opposite is in RLUSD, which is funds,” Hoersten mentioned at Ripple’s Swell convention in New York on Tuesday. “Having that each on a single ledger with a single technique, to me, is what makes the ecosystem distinctive.”
The feedback got here throughout a panel dialogue alongside Bitwise CEO Hunter Horsley, Canary Capital CEO Steven McClurg and Bloomberg Intelligence senior ETF analyst Eric Balchunas. The group mentioned what a spot XRP ETF might seem like, and why they suppose it would outperform previous crypto ETF launches.
McClurg defined how new SEC guidelines, mixed with current futures exercise, now enable ETF issuers to file what’s referred to as a “no-delay modification” for belongings like XRP.
“So as an illustration, we filed that for Litecoin and HBAR, you recognize, a number of weeks in the past, which each of these went dwell final week,” McClurg mentioned. “After which we filed an XRP ETF with no delay modification, basically, 20 days earlier than November 13.”
Meaning a spot XRP ETF might go dwell as early as subsequent week.
Bitwise, which just lately launched a Solana staking ETF, can also be within the race. That fund, BSOL, introduced in $500 million in its first week — one of many strongest performances of any ETF in 2024. Horsley mentioned he believes XRP might be subsequent.
“I believe XRP, and we all know from our shopper base, is among the highest conviction belongings amongst traders, so I believe it should do fabulously nicely, and we’ll carry it to market throughout all these investor sorts to ensure it has its greatest shot at making a dent,” he mentioned.
Eric Balchunas, senior ETF analyst at Bloomberg Intelligence, echoed that view. He in contrast the ETF launch race to a “Cannonball Run,” and mentioned XRP has already confirmed its reputation in previous crypto fund launches.
“It wouldn’t shock me if XRP finally ends up being the breakout ETF of the subsequent cycle,” Balchunas mentioned.
Nonetheless, the panel cautioned that an ETF alone doesn’t assure a value surge. However as new instruments like in-kind creation, bodily settled futures and tighter spreads come into play, XRP could also be higher positioned than most to profit from a broader shift of crypto into regulated finance.
