Franklin Templeton Seeks XRP ETF Approval
The Securities and Exchange Commission extends Grayscale’s XRP ETF review; case against Ripple said to near end.
Franklin Templeton, which manages $27.7 billion in 74 ETFs, has applied to issue a fund offering investors exposure to the spot price of the XRP cryptocurrency, the fourth-largest digital coin by market cap, which has tripled in price over the past year.
The filing came a day after the Securities and Exchange Commission delayed its review of Grayscale Investments’ XRP application, saying it needed more time. The new deadline is May 21.
The delay was triggered by the SEC nearing an agreement with XRP founder Ripple Labs, Fox News’s Eleanor Terrett posted on X. Ripple, sued in 2020, was fined $125 million in August when a court determined the company sold unregistered securities. The company has pushed back, and the SEC, more accommodating toward crypto markets under the Trump administration, is said to be negotiating a settlement more favorable to the company.
The XRP ETF is among a slew of spot crypto ETFs that issuers have applied to create since the election of President Donald Trump last year. XRP, approved for trading in a Hashdex ETF in Brazil last month, joins Hedera and Solana among digital coins seeking to be traded as ETFs. So far, only Bitcoin and Ethereum have been approved for trading as ETFs.
Franklin Templeton Explores XRP, Bitcoin
Franklin Templeton, which filed Tuesday to launch its XRP fund, has been known for its relatively conservative ETFs. Its largest is the $2.4 billion Franklin U.S. Core Bond ETF (FLCB) followed by the $2.2 billion Putnam Focused Large Cap Value ETF (PVAL). Still, its $426 million Franklin Bitcoin ETF (EZBC) was among the original spot bitcoin ETFs approved in January 2024. That fund’s price has dropped 17% over the past three months.
XRP, launched in 2012 as the token of the XRP Ledger, aims to be used in cross-border transactions. It’s said to be faster and cheaper than other cryptocurrencies.
In the U.S., the SEC is reviewing XRP applications from Grayscale, Bitwise, CoinShares, Canary Capital and WisdomTree.
Bloomberg’s Eric Balchunas posted on X that applications covering 64 cryptocurrencies have been submitted to the SEC.
