The possibility of an XRP Exchange-Traded Fund (ETF) has sparked much interest in the crypto community. Recently, the CBOE filed the 19b4S for Bitwise’s XRP ETF, along with other companies looking to get approval. Matt Hougan, Chief Investment Officer at Bitwise, discussed the potential for these ETFs in a recent discussion, shedding light on the current state of XRP ETFs.
In an interview with Thinking Crypto, Hougan explained that there had been several starts and stops with ETF applications in the past, with some applications being filed and later withdrawn. However, the fact that multiple issuers are now refiling their applications suggests that the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) is open to investigating these products, although approval is not guaranteed.
While the conversation around digital assets like XRP and Solana is heating up, Hougan is optimistic that the SEC is increasingly willing to consider these ETFs. He said that the outlook for XRP ETFs has improved over the past few months, and with more progress being made, it’s likely that the SEC will take a more accommodative approach to approving these assets.
“I would say you want to be realistic about the speed. I think even a pro-crypto SEC is likely to take their time, analyze, get public comment. My view is that this is a long game. Our view is that the SEC wants to take an accommodative view and help investors access these assets through ETPs. We’ll find out over the next six months,” he said.
Hougan pointed out that, historically, commodity ETFs have been launched only when there is a regulated futures market for that commodity, such as with gold, and even Bitcoin. While a futures market is not required for XRP ETFs, it would be an important factor in the approval process.
