Grayscale’s XRP Trust Conversion to Spot ETF

A subsidiary of the New York Stock Exchange took steps on Thursday to convert Grayscale’s XRP Trust into a spot exchange-traded fund (ETF).

NYSE Arca submitted a 19b-4 filing for this conversion, indicating that Coinbase Custody Trust Company, LLC will serve as the custodian and administrator, while BNY Mellon Asset Servicing is anticipated to be the transfer agency.

The filing states, “The Trust is one of the world’s largest XRP (‘XRP’) investment funds by assets under management as of the date of this filing.” It reports that the Trust holds approximately $16.1 million in assets under management. Its shares are primarily held by American investors looking for exposure to XRP without the complications of direct asset purchases.

A 19b-4 filing, required by exchanges on behalf of issuers, is essential for proposing a spot crypto ETF to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). Once the SEC acknowledges this filing, it will be published in the Federal Register, which triggers the agency’s approval process.

Many firms are competing to launch various crypto ETFs, including those linked to Dogecoin, President Donald Trump’s memecoin, as well as ETFs based on XRP, Litecoin, and Solana. With a new administration, the SEC is anticipated to adopt a more supportive stance toward cryptocurrency, prompting firms to explore potential ETF approvals.

The SEC had already approved the listing of Bitcoin ETFs in January 2024, followed by Ethereum ETFs later that year.