In summary
- XRP hit $1.67, its highest level since May 2021, driven by rumors about a possible ETF and regulatory changes at the SEC.
- WisdomTree registered an XRP ETF in Delaware, while Ripple announced investments in the rebranded European Bitwise Physical XRP ETP fund.
- The departure of Gary Gensler as SEC Chairman increased optimism, contributing to the rise in the price of XRP.
XRP has hit its highest level since May 2021, hitting a peak of $1.67 on Friday morning, according to data from CoinGecko.
At the time of publication, the price of XRP has settled at $1.66, following an increase of 13.8% on the day and 12.8% in the last week. Its price move comes amid growing speculation that an US (SEC).
On Monday, global ETF provider WisdomTree registered an XRP ETF in the state of Delaware, according to Fox Business—the first step in gaining approval for the product. Then on Wednesday, the European XRP ETP was rebranded as the Bitwise Physical XRP ETP while Ripple said it will invest in the fund.
“Global demand for exposure to the crypto asset class has exploded in 2024, driven by growing interest in Cryptocurrency-backed investment offerings,” Ripple CEO Brad Garlinghouse said as the company announced plans to invest in the Bitwise fund. .
In October, Garlinghouse said he believes the approval of an XRP ETF is “inevitable.”
This comes in a year when Bitcoin and Ethereum ETFs were approved in the US, allowing traditional investors to invest in cryptocurrencies. At the time of writing, US Bitcoin ETFs have $107.14 billion in assets under management, according to CoinGlass, while Ethereum ETFs have $10.74 billion in assets under management.
“With the US regulatory environment for cryptocurrencies finally becoming clearer, this trend is set to accelerate, further driving demand for cryptocurrency ETPs,” Garlinghouse said.
XRP has been embroiled in legal battles with the SEC since 2020, after the regulator alleged that the asset is an unregistered security. In 2023, a federal judge ruled that XRP is not “necessarily a security in itself.” Then, in October of this year, the SEC appealed key aspects of the decision related to the sale of XRP on digital asset trading platforms and personal sales made by Ripple executives.
This regulatory and legal uncertainty has been a dark cloud hanging over the sixth-largest cryptocurrency by market cap. With the news that SEC Chairman Gary Gensler is preparing to leave the SEC upon Trump’s inauguration, some of those clouds have lifted.
Upon news of Gensler’s impending departure last week, XRP broke its three-year high by hitting $1.49—which it has since surpassed three times. That said, the token is still 51% below its all-time high of $3.40 reached in January 2018—almost seven years ago.
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