- Volatility Shares has launched the first-ever XRP Futures ETF, boosting the chance of spot XRP ETF approval.
- Volatility Shares is also expected to launch a 2x XRP futures ETF to provide investors with twice the daily gains of XRP.
According to the information reaching us, Volatility Shares is working to launch the first-ever XRP Futures ETF today, May 22. As detailed in the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) filing, this product would trade under the ticker XRPI on Nasdaq.
As the first XRP-related 1x futures ETF, it paves the way for investors to gain exposure to the asset through a regulated platform. However, this does not end there.
Volatility Shares has also declared its willingness to launch a 2x XRP futures ETF. Unlike the current one, this would provide investors with twice the daily gains of XRP. Teucrium Investment Advisors launched a similar product in April, trading $5.43 million on its debut.
Currently, it has an Asset Under Management (AUM) of $120 million and a daily trading volume of $35 million. Taking this to another level, ProShares is reported to be planning on launching three XRP ETFs. The first, according to the source, would be a 2x leverage (Ultra XRP). The second would also be with -2x inverse exposure (UltraShort XRP), and the last would be a standard inverse fund (Short XRP).
This significant development comes soon after Ripple Labs and the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) reached a $50 million settlement, as indicated in our earlier discussion.
However, Judge Analisa Torres denied Ripple and the SEC’s request for an indicative ruling. Explaining this, Ripple’s Chief Legal Officer, Stuart Alderoty, clarified that XRP’s legal clarity remains intact, as detailed in our previous news story.
Spot XRP ETF Approval Chance Increases
Amidst the backdrop of this, experts have hinted that the ongoing legal development and the launch of the XRP Futures ETF increases the chances of approval of a spot XRP ETF. It is important to note that nine spot XRP ETF applications are awaiting decisions, with one from Franklin Templeton and another from Grayscale Investment. According to the prediction platform Polymarket, there is an 80% chance of approval this year.
As featured in our recent news coverage, Bloomberg ETF analyst Eric Balchunas has hinted that XRP ETFs filed by Grayscale, 21Shares, Bitwise, and Canary could have decisions made by October 18, October 19, October 20, and October 24, respectively.
Earlier, another Bloomberg ETF analyst, James Seyffart, explained that XRP would hardly witness an ETF approval soon until the “whole mess of litigation” between Ripple and the SEC is resolved, as highlighted in our previous news article.
While this is almost behind now, the State of Oregon’s attorney general, Dan Rayfield, has also filed a lawsuit against Coinbase, listing XRP and 30 other tokens as securities, as also mentioned in our earlier discussion.
