There is a significant level of optimism within the cryptocurrency market regarding the potential approval of various alternative coin (altcoin) exchange-traded funds (ETFs) by 2025.
During a recent interview with Bloomberg, Ripple’s President, Monica Long, reiterated that the XRP ETF could be the next major approval following the ETFs for Bitcoin (BTC) and Ethereum (ETH) in the United States.
“We can expect to see more ETFs for various cryptocurrencies this year in the US. I anticipate that XRP will likely be granted approval after Bitcoin and Ethereum.”
Long pointed out that Canary Capital and several other potential issuers have submitted applications for XRP ETFs to the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), hinting that approval might be expedited under the current administration.
Additionally, she mentioned that the Ripple dollar (RLUSD) will soon be integrated into leading platforms such as Coinbase.
XRP ETF Development in Light of Legal Proceedings
In 2023, a ruling by U.S. District Judge Analisa Torres concluded that XRP did not qualify as a security when traded on public platforms but could fall under the SEC’s jurisdiction if directly offered to institutional investors.
With a recent legal action by Coinbase, there is a possibility of obtaining regulatory clarity on whether digital asset transactions on secondary markets are considered securities.
The case has now been escalated to the Second Circuit to determine the validity of the SEC’s classification of “sales of digital assets on the secondary market” as securities.
Jake Chervinsky, Chief Legal Officer (CLO) at Variant Fund, responded to this development by stating,
“The district court’s decision to allow an appeal on the issue of whether digital asset transactions on secondary markets are subject to securities laws provides an opportunity for the Second Circuit to challenge the SEC’s stance.”
If the Second Circuit upholds Torres’s ruling, it could enhance XRP’s legal position. However, if digital asset sales on exchanges are deemed securities, it might pose a challenge to XRP ETF prospects.
The SEC has expressed intentions to challenge Torres’s ruling and has a deadline until January 15th to do so.
There are speculations that this appeal could be rejected under the new administration, potentially triggering significant price fluctuations for XRP in the upcoming week based on the regulatory outcome.
Despite these uncertainties, the prediction platform Polymarket has set the odds of an XRP ETF approval in 2025 at +70%, reflecting the general market sentiment.