21Shares looks to secure SEC approval for XRP ETF amid growing interest in other crypto funds
2024-11-01

Investment firm 21Shares is pursuing regulatory approval for a spot XRP exchange-traded fund, following similar proposals from other companies.
21Shares filed an S-1 registration statement with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission on Friday. The fund, called the 21Shares Core XRP Trust, will be listed on the Cboe BZX Exchange. Coinbase Custody Trust Company will be its custodian.
"21Shares remains committed to working towards expanding US investor access to the cryptocurrency asset class and we look forward to driving innovation in the US," a spokesperson for 21Shares said in an emailed statement to The Block.
Firms have been vying for different crypto ETFs over the past year after the SEC approved crypto ETFs for the first time earlier this year. In January, the regulator approved 11 spot bitcoin ETFs and soon after gave the green light for eight Ethereum ETFs. VanEck filed for a Solana ETF in June, followed by 21Shares for a similar product. Canary Capital filed last month to see if it could get the SEC's approval for a spot Litecoin ETF.
Other firms are also looking to get the green light for a spot XRP ETF, including Canary Capital and Bitwise. A spot XRP ETF has not been approved by the SEC before, and if it does, it could face challenges. The SEC has been embroiled in a legal fight with Ripple after the agency accused the company of raising $1.3 billion through the sale of XRP, which it views as an unregistered security.
The lawsuit between Ripple and the SEC is ongoing.  Over a year ago, U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York Judge Analisa Torres ruled that some of Ripple’s sales, called programmatic, of XRP did not violate securities laws because of a blind bid process in place for them. She did, however, rule that other direct sales of the token to institutional investors were securities. Later in August, Judge Torres ordered Ripple to pay $125 million in fines.
 Both the SEC and Ripple are working to appeal parts of Judge Torres' decision.
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