NEW YORK — The XRP Ledger’s capability to facilitate both value transfer and real-world payments from a unified platform may provide it with a structural advantage in the expanding crypto ETF market, according to Bitnomial founder and CEO Luke Hoersten.
“What I think is unique about XRP and RLUSD is that you have a single ledger driving a dual strategy: one for wealth storage and transfer in XRP, and the other for payments in RLUSD,” Hoersten explained at Ripple’s Swell conference in New York on Tuesday. “Having both on a single ledger with a single strategy makes the ecosystem unique, in my opinion.”
The remarks were made during a panel discussion featuring Bitwise CEO Hunter Horsley, Canary Capital CEO Steven McClurg, and Bloomberg Intelligence senior ETF analyst Eric Balchunas. The participants examined what a spot XRP ETF might entail and why they believe it could outperform previous crypto ETF launches.
McClurg detailed how new SEC regulations, combined with existing futures activity, now permit ETF issuers to submit what’s known as a “no-delay amendment” for assets like XRP.
“For example, we submitted that for Litecoin and HBAR a few weeks ago, both of which launched last week,” McClurg noted. “We also filed an XRP ETF with a no-delay amendment, essentially, 20 days before November 13.”
This means a spot XRP ETF could be launched as early as next week.
Bitwise, which recently introduced a Solana staking ETF, is also in the competition. That fund, BSOL, amassed $500 million in its first week — one of the strongest performances of any ETF in 2024. Horsley expressed confidence that XRP could follow suit.
“XRP is, according to our client base, one of the highest-conviction assets among investors, so I think it will perform exceptionally well, and we’ll present it to various investor types to ensure it has the best chance of making an impact,” he stated.
Eric Balchunas, senior ETF analyst at Bloomberg Intelligence, shared a similar perspective. He likened the ETF launch competition to a “Cannonball Run,” indicating that XRP has already demonstrated its popularity in prior crypto fund launches.
“It wouldn’t be surprising if XRP becomes the breakout ETF of the next cycle,” Balchunas remarked.
However, the panel advised that merely having an ETF doesn’t guarantee a price increase. Yet, with emerging tools like in-kind creation, physically settled futures, and tighter spreads, XRP seems better poised than many to capitalize on a broader shift of crypto into regulated finance.
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