Last January, WisdomTree, one of the first companies to issue a spot Bitcoin exchange-traded fund (ETF) in the United States, applied to launch a spot ETF backed by XRP.
On December 2, WisdomTree became the fourth company in the United States to file a Form S-1 for a spot XRP (XRP) ETF with the Securities and Exchange Commission.
XRP ETF observations from Bloomberg ETF analyst Eric Balchunas. Source: Eric Balchunas/Eleanor Terret
WisdomTree’s new ETF, the WisdomTree XRP Fund, aims to provide investors with exposure to the XRP price through the issuance of shares that will be listed on the Cboe BZX Exchange.
Subject to SEC approval, the new fund plans to create and redeem shares using a cash generation method or in exchange for cash, with an in-kind model potentially subject to further approval.
Coinbase affiliates act as primary execution agents and custodians of XRP.
According to the filing, both the lead execution agent and the XRP custodian are affiliates of US cryptocurrency exchange Coinbase Global.
“Coinbase serves as the XRP custodian and primary execution agent for several competing exchange-traded XRP products… and plays a critical role in supporting the U.S. spot XRP exchange-traded product ecosystem,” WisdomTree’s filing states.
WisdomTree also relies on Coinbase for its WisdomTree Bitcoin Fund (BTCW), which began trading on January 11th along with nine other spot Bitcoin ETFs.
Previous spot XRP ETF filings came from Bitwise, Canary Capital, and 21Shares.
In filing an S-1 for a spot XRP fund, WisdomTree joins three other ETF issuers, including cryptocurrency asset managers Bitwise, Canary Capital, and 21Shares.
Bitwise was one of the first companies to apply for a spot XRP ETF, filing a Form S-1 for the Bitwise XRP ETF on October 2nd. Bitwise is also one of the first spot Bitcoin ETF issuers, launching the Bitwise Bitcoin ETF (BITB) in January. .
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Canary Capital followed in Bitwise’s footsteps and filed an S-1 for the Canary XRP ETF with the SEC on October 9th.
Cathie Wood’s ARK Invest and 21Shares, co-issuers of the ARK 21Shares Bitcoin ETF, filed a Form S-1 for the Core XRP Trust on November 1. This trust does not provide investors with direct exposure to XRP, but does provide an “opportunity”. “You can access the market indirectly.”
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