Ripple invests in Bitwise’s European XRP ETF

What’s new? Fintech company Ripple will start investing in an exchange-traded fund (ETF) based on the XRP token it issues from asset manager Bitwise, available in European markets. Bitwise itself is rebranding its investment products in Europe, with the ETC Group Physical XRP ETC being renamed Bitwise Physical XRP ETP. The product has been trading on Deutsche Börse’s Xetra platform under the ticker GXRP since 2022. Its return for the month was 181%.

Press release

What else is known? Ripple CEO Brad Garlinghouse noted that global demand for crypto assets surged in 2024, fueled by the launch of spot bitcoin ETFs in the United States and other cryptocurrency-backed investment products for the traditional stock market.

“With the US regulatory environment for crypto finally becoming more clear, this trend is poised to accelerate, further driving demand for crypto ETPs,” the entrepreneur concluded.

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XRP ranks sixth in the overall cryptocurrency ranking by market capitalization with over $81,2 billion and is trading at $1,42, having added 26% in a week and 176% in a month.

The asset rose sharply on November 21, after the head of the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) Gary Gensler announced his resignation. The regulator has been in litigation with Ripple over the status of XRP since 2020; it accused the company of making an unregistered offering of securities in the initial sale of the asset.

The court ruled that XRP itself was not a security, but saw a violation in the institutional sales. Nevertheless, the fine was reduced by 94% of the amount originally requested by the SEC. The commission has since filed an appeal to review the court’s decision.

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XRP is actively used by financial institutions around the world for cross-border transfers. The Ripple-developed XRP Ledger (XRPL) blockchain is used to tokenize real-world assets (RWAs) such as securities and real estate.

Earlier this week, the UK’s first regulated crypto exchange Archax said it would offer customers trading in money market fund tokens from abrdn, a provider tokenized on XRPL. Aurum Equity Partners also issued tokens of its $1 billion fund on XRPL in October.

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As for Bitwise, it is also an issuer of bitcoin and Ethereum-based spot ETFs in the US, with shares of the funds trading on the NYSE under the tickers BITB and ETHW, respectively. Inflows into BITB have reached $2,16 billion since its launch in January, while the fund has accumulated bitcoins worth $3,68 billion. ETHW has raised $389,81 million and manages ETH worth $392,73 million.

The company recently surpassed $10 billion in total assets under management. In August, it bought European exchange-traded products issuer ETC Group and is rebranding its European products to reflect this.

On November 19, Bitwise opened trading of an exchange-traded product based on the native token of the Aptos (APT) blockchain in staking on the SIX Swiss Exchange.