XRP Ledger’s Dual Utility Could Make It a Breakout ETF Play, Experts Argue

NEW YORK — The XRP Ledger’s ability to support both value transfer and real-world payments from a single platform could give it a structural advantage in the growing crypto ETF market, according to derivatives exchange Bitnomial founder and CEO Luke Hoersten.

“What I think is unique about XRP and RLUSD is you have a single ledger that is driving a two-prong strategy, one of wealth storage and transfer in XRP, and the other is in RLUSD, which is payments,” Hoersten said at Ripple’s Swell conference in New York on Tuesday. “Having that both on a single ledger with a single strategy, to me, is what makes the ecosystem unique.”

The comments came during a panel discussion alongside Bitwise CEO Hunter Horsley, Canary Capital CEO Steven McClurg and Bloomberg Intelligence senior ETF analyst Eric Balchunas. The group discussed what a spot XRP ETF could look like, and why they think it might outperform past crypto ETF launches.

McClurg explained how new SEC rules, combined with existing futures activity, now allow ETF issuers to file what’s called a “no-delay amendment” for assets like XRP.

“So for instance, we filed that for Litecoin and HBAR, you know, several weeks ago, which both of those went live last week,” McClurg said. “And then we filed an XRP ETF with no delay amendment, essentially, 20 days before November 13.”

That means a spot XRP ETF could go live as early as next week.

Bitwise, which recently launched a Solana staking ETF, is also in the race. That fund, BSOL, brought in $500 million in its first week — one of the strongest performances of any ETF in 2024. Horsley said he believes XRP could be next.

“I think XRP, and we know from our client base, is one of the highest conviction assets amongst investors, so I think it will do fabulously well, and we’ll bring it to market across all those investor types to make sure it has its best shot at making a dent,” he said.

Eric Balchunas, senior ETF analyst at Bloomberg Intelligence, echoed that view. He compared the ETF launch race to a “Cannonball Run,” and said XRP has already proven its popularity in past crypto fund launches.

“It wouldn’t surprise me if XRP ends up being the breakout ETF of the next cycle,” Balchunas said.

Still, the panel cautioned that an ETF alone doesn’t guarantee a price surge. But as new tools like in-kind creation, physically settled futures and tighter spreads come into play, XRP may be better positioned than most to benefit from a broader shift of crypto into regulated finance.