Cboe Global Markets (Chicago Board Options Exchange) has submitted four separate 19b-4 applications to the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) to introduce spot XRP exchange-traded funds (ETFs).
The filings, made on behalf of WisdomTree, Bitwise, 21Shares, and Canary, represent a key step towards securing regulatory approval for these investment products.
These applications follow the issuers’ S-1 filings, moving the proposals closer to regulatory review.
Once the SEC acknowledges receipt, the agency has up to 240 days to assess and determine whether to approve or reject the ETFs.
Ripple CEO Brad Garlinghouse reacted to the filings with a clock emoji, implying that a regulatory decision may be imminent.
Garlinghouse has previously stated that an XRP ETF is inevitable, reinforcing expectations that such investment products will eventually be approved.
According to CryptoSlate, the surge in ETF applications from multiple issuers reflects growing institutional interest in XRP-related investment opportunities.
The proposed XRP ETFs are designed to track the price of XRP, currently the fourth-largest cryptocurrency by market capitalisation.
Cboe clarified that authorised participants will not engage in direct XRP transactions when creating or redeeming the ETF.
Instead, the structure ensures exposure to XRP’s price movements without requiring fund managers to purchase or hold the asset directly.
The filing also draws comparisons to the approval process for spot Bitcoin and Ethereum ETFs.
Cboe pointed out that while XRP does not have a futures market, the SEC previously approved Bitcoin and Ethereum ETFs despite the CME futures market for both assets not being deemed of “significant size.”
Furthermore, the application argues that alternative safeguards exist to mitigate fraud and market manipulation risks, making a surveillance-sharing agreement unnecessary for XRP ETFs.
The filing states:
“There are sufficient ‘other means’ of preventing fraud and manipulation that warrant dispensing of the surveillance-sharing agreement with a regulated market of significant size, as was done with both Spot Bitcoin ETPs and Spot ETH ETPs, and that this proposal should be approved.”
Featured image credit: edited from freepik
