Update (Feb. 6, 11:40 pm UTC): This article has been updated to add information throughout.
Cboe BZX Exchange has just filed 19b-4 filings on behalf of four asset managers looking to list the first spot XRP exchange-traded funds in the United States.
On Feb. 6, the exchange lodged 19b-4 filings for Canary Capital, WisdomTree, 21Shares and Bitwise for ETFs tracking the price of XRP (XRP), currently the fourth-largest cryptocurrency by value.
The 19b-4 filings inform the Securities and Exchange Commission of a proposed rule change and, if approved, would lead to the first XRP ETFs in the country.
The SEC, under former Chair Gary Gensler, allowed ETFs tracking Bitcoin (BTC) and Ether (ETH) to begin trading at the start of 2024.
However, now headed by crypto-friendly acting chair Mark Uyeda, analysts have noted an uptick in the number and variety of crypto-related ETF filings as issuers probe what products a Trump administration-influenced SEC will allow.
Last week, on Jan. 28, Cboe BZX refiled 19b-4 filings for spot Solana (SOL) ETFs for Canary, 21Shares, Bitwise and VanEck, which a Gensler-led SEC reportedly rejected late last year.
Bitwise was the first to file with the SEC for its Bitwise XRP ETF, submitting a Form S-1 for its bid in October. A Form S-1 is the initial registration of a security with the SEC — both it and a 19b-4 filing are needed before the regulator will allow an ETF to start trading.
Canary Capital closely followed Bitwise, submitting a Form S-1 for its Canary XRP Trust just days later. 21Shares initially filed for its XRP ETF, the 21Shares Core XRP Trust, in November, while the WisdomTree XRP Fund was filed with the SEC in December.
Other fund issuers have also been angling to launch spot XRP funds. On Jan. 30, New York Stock Exchange subsidiary NYSE Arca lodged a 19b-4 filing to convert Grayscale’s XRP trust into a spot ETF.
Source: James Seyffart
Related: US Bitcoin ETFs could pull in over $50B in 2025, Bitwise says
Jersey-based issuer CoinShares on Jan. 24 also filed a Form S-1 for a CoinShares XRP ETF.
JPMorgan said last month that it believes spot XRP ETFs could attract between $4 billion to $8 billion in net new assets within the first 12 months of launch.
XRP is trading around $2.34 and is down 2% over the last 24 hours. In mid-January, it came close to again touching its long-held all-time high of $3.40, which it hit seven years ago in January 2018, per CoinGecko.
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