Key Takeaways
- The SEC has postponed a decision on the spot XRP ETF, setting a new deadline for June 15.
- The commission can extend the decision period to 90 days if it needs more time to consider the proposed rule changes.
- XRP price dived below $2.30 within hours of the announcement, posting 3% losses on the day.
The US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has pushed forward its decision regarding Franklin Templeton’s application for a spot XRP ETF and extended the review period for an extra month to June 17, 2025.
According to a press release from the regulator, the SEC stated it required more time to assess the application, the initial deadline of which was May 3. The Franklin spot XRP ETF was first registered with the Cboe BZX Exchange and initially entered the Federal Register on March 19. The firm Franklin Templeton manages assets with over %1.5 trillion.
The SEC is allowed under the law to take between 45 and 90 days to approve, deny, or extend any decision, and this time, it has chosen to delay a decision on the spot XRP ETF and a DOGE ETF. In the press release, the commission stated:
“The Commission finds it appropriate to designate a longer period within which to take action… so that it has sufficient time to consider the proposed rule change and the issues raised
therein.”
XRP Reacted with Caution
Similar delay actions were also faced by the Bitwise DOGE ETF and Grayscale’s HBAR ETF. According to Bloomberg ETF expert and analyst Seyffart, the delays didn’t surprise, maintaining that the deadline was in October. On the DOGE ETF, Seyffart observed that the submission by Grayscale was placed under burner last February. Seyffart stated:
“I expect more delays today or this week on some Solana and Hedera/HBAR ETF filings. This is expected, IMO. A final deadline for most of this is October 2025 or later.”
Despite the ongoing positive market sentiment, the decision by the SEC to postpone the spot XRP ETF saw the token react with caution, losing 2.54% to trade at around $2.22 with a bit of volatility that caused a noticeable drop in volume. According to onchain data, XRP’s day trading volume dropped by 32%, suggesting that traders had adopted a wait-and-see mode as they looked for clearer signals.
Party Starts End Of June/Early July
On his part, crypto investor Scott Johnson, who is also a finance lawyer, predicted that the Spot XRP ETF approvals could happen between June and July, just before the end of the XRP ETF deadline. Johnson said:
“Party starts at the end of June/early July. Avalanche of approvals after.”
Santiment, on the other hand, revealed that one of the XRP whales with over 100 million—1 billion XRP coins garnered over 1 billion tokens in the past two days. It increased its holdings from 8.16B to 9.16B tokens.
Conclusion
With the SEC pushing the spot XRP ETF decision for another month, the XRP community is keenly watching for any commentary from the SEC and its decision on other ongoing reviews. XRP is currently the fourth largest cryptocurrency by market capitalization and was trading at around $2.24 by the time of writing, a price that, according to data from CoinGecko, is 7% higher than last week’s figure.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is a spot ETF?
A spot XRP ETF is a fund that tracks the price of XRP in the spot market, where cryptocurrencies are bought and sold for immediate delivery.
Which XRP ETF got approved recently?
The ProShares XRP ETF that got a green light is an XRP futures ETF, not a spot XRP ETF such as the Franklin Templeton, which has been postponed.
What is the difference between a spot XRP ETF and an XRP futures ETF?
A spot ETF holds the actual asset it tracks, like XRP, while a futures ETF invests in futures contracts representing the asset’s price. Spot ETFs offer direct price tracking and simpler ownership, while futures ETFs can be more complex due to potential tracking errors and basis risk.
