SEC Acknowledges 21Shares’ XRP ETF Request

According to a Feb. 14 regulatory filing, the United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has acknowledged Cboe BZX’s request to list asset manager 21Shares’ XRP exchange-traded fund (ETF).

Not to be confused with an actual XRP ETF approval, the acknowledgment is a sign of progress for US exchanges seeking to list ETFs containing spot XRP.

The filing states, “The Exchange proposes to list and trade the Shares under BZX Rule 14.11(e), which governs the listing and trading of Commodity-Based Trust Shares on the Exchange. 21Shares US, LLC is the sponsor of the Trust (the “Sponsor”). The Shares will be registered with the Commission by means of the Trust’s registration statement on Form S-1 (the “Registration Statement”).”

The SEC Changes Tune on Crypto

The SEC has often been seen as a major adversary of crypto, but recent market progress, particularly regarding XRP, indicates a changing stance, particularly as US President Donald Trump begins his second term.

On his campaign trail, Trump pledged to make America a global hub for crypto, and the current developments reflect strides toward that goal.

Listing XRP as a commodity trust would categorize it similarly to spot Bitcoin and Ether ETFs. 21Shares submitted its application to launch the Core XRP Trust ETF in November, just days before Trump’s election victory on November 5.

The SEC has explained its rationale for approving BTC and ETH in this filing, stating: “The Commission recently issued orders approving proposals to list bitcoin- and ether-based commodity trust shares and bitcoin-based, ether-based, and a combination of bitcoin- and ether-based trust issued receipts. These proposed funds are structurally nearly identical to the Trust but propose to hold bitcoin and/or ether instead of XRP.”

They continued, “In both the Spot Bitcoin ETP Approval Order and Spot ETH ETP Approval Order, the Commission found that sufficient ‘other means’ of preventing fraud and manipulation had been demonstrated that justified dispensing with a surveillance-sharing agreement of significant size.”

Less than two weeks ago, Cboe sought permission to list four spot XRP ETFs, including the 21Shares Core XRP Trust.

> NEW: @EricBalchunas and I took a look at the filings for spot crypto ETFs. We’re putting out relatively high odds of approval across the board. Mainly focused on Litecoin, Solana, XRP, and Dogecoin for now.
> Here’s the table with the odds and some other details: pic.twitter.com/xaXaNXLb0M
> — James Seyffart (@JSeyff) February 10, 2025

Leading up to the US elections and post-inauguration, finance issuers filed for over a dozen crypto ETFs, reflecting optimistic industry expectations for a more favorable regulatory environment under Trump.

These offerings include ETFs based on memecoins like Dogecoin Official Trump (TRUMP) and Bonk (BONK), alongside applications for listings targeting alternative cryptocurrencies known as “altcoins,” including Solana and Litecoin.

Issuers are currently in a holding pattern, preparing for potential approval of a broad array of crypto index ETFs encompassing various digital tokens.

On February 14, the inaugural spot crypto index fund, Hashdex Nasdaq Crypto Index US ETF, started trading on Nasdaq.