ProShares Hits Pause on XRP ETF—U.S. Investors Left Waiting
Another day, another crypto ETF delay—Wall Street’s favorite two-step. ProShares just yanked the launch of its XRP-focused ETF, leaving U.S. investors to chew on regulatory uncertainty instead of gains.
Why the holdup? The usual suspects: SEC foot-dragging and that lingering legal fog from Ripple’s courtroom saga. Never mind that XRP’s been trading for a decade—apparently, the suits still need ’more time’ to figure out if it’s ’safe’ for your portfolio.
Meanwhile, crypto natives shrug and keep stacking sats offshore. Because nothing screams ’financial innovation’ like watching TradFi slowly rediscover the wheel.
Futures-based XRP ETFs on the horizon
As the frenzy over a ProShares XRP product gained momentum, it became apparent that any future ETFs would be based on futures contracts. In his response, Nate Geraci, the President of The ETF Store, clarified that ProShares intended to launch futures-based ETFs, not a spot XRP fund. Generally, futures-based ETFs are less regulated, though they provide investors with access to the assets without holding them.
Geraci pointed out that product offerings could include Leveraged and inverse options, allowing people to engage in XRP price movements in several ways. He also noted that Teucrium introduced the 2x Long XRP ETF (XXRP) to amplify the daily return of the coin through swap contracts.
However, regulations still pose an issue for the approval of spot XRP ETFs. Currently, some of the firms seeking to have their spot ETFs approved are Grayscale, Bitwise, Franklin Templeton, WisdomTree, and 21Shares. Bloomberg’s Seyffart also said that definitive decisions on these application areas are not likely to happen before October 2025.
According to Polymarket data, the chances of having a U.S. XRP spot ETF approved by December 2025 are 78%, up from 68% on April 22. However, it is still lower than the 87% high recorded on March 23.
Ripple’s global ETF expansion
Ripple’s global ETF expansion continues to forge ahead despite challenges faced in the U.S. On April 25, the Brazilian crypto firm Hashdex began trading the world’s first spot XRP ETF under the symbol XRPH11 in the B3 exchange. Managed by Genial Investimentos, the fund invests at least 95% of its net asset value in XRP and emulates the Nasdaq XRP Reference Price Index.
Hashdex debuted in Brazil and added its ninth single-asset ETF on B3, which focuses on Bitcoin, Ethereum, and Solana, among others. According to Hashdex CIO Samir Kerbage, the fund aims to appeal to institutional investors who want to invest in crypto within the Brazilian regulated equity market system.
One of the key aspects that affect the overall U.S. spot XRP ETF is the legal battle that Ripple is currently facing with the SEC. A recent filing—a motion to stay submitted on April 10—may indicate that settlement negotiations are underway.
Analysts argue that the SEC‘s decision to either withdraw or sustain its appeal on Judge Torres’s ruling on programmatic XRP sales may affect the approval timeframe. According to Bloomberg, the newly elected chairman of the SEC, Paul Atkins, will become a key figure in deciding on the acceptance of crypto ETFs.
Although there have been rumors that XRP is struggling, it is still climbing at $2.29, up 0.59% from its day low. The daily market capitalization and trading volume of XRP also increased by 1% and 28%, respectively, and were valued at $133.5 billion and $3.25 billion.
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