Cboe Clears 21Shares U.S. Spot XRP ETF for Launch: A Watershed Moment for Crypto Regulation

Wall Street's gatekeeper just swung the doors wide open. The Chicago Board Options Exchange (CBOE) has given the formal green light to list and trade the 21Shares U.S. Spot XRP ETF, marking a seismic shift in the regulatory landscape for digital assets. This isn't just another filing—it's a cleared runway.

The Regulatory Hurdle, Cleared

For years, XRP existed in a regulatory gray zone, its status debated in courtrooms rather than trading floors. The CBOE's clearance cuts through that uncertainty. By approving the 21Shares vehicle, the exchange effectively bypasses the biggest obstacle that has kept spot XRP ETFs off U.S. markets. The move signals that a major institutional pathway now considers the asset's legal questions resolved enough for prime time.

What This Means for the Market

Expect capital flows to follow the legitimacy. A spot ETF provides a familiar, regulated wrapper for billions in institutional capital that has been sidelined. It transforms XRP from a speculative crypto play into a trackable, tradable financial product for wealth managers and pension funds—the same crowd that still thinks a 'blockchain' is a type of bicycle lock. This approval creates a direct conduit for mainstream money to enter the XRP ecosystem without the fuss of private keys and digital wallets.

The Ripple Effect

The implications ripple far beyond XRP's price chart. This clearance sets a powerful precedent, demonstrating that assets with complex legal histories can achieve regulatory clarity. It pressures other exchanges and regulators to keep pace, potentially accelerating approvals for a wider range of crypto-based financial products. The market's infrastructure is being rebuilt, one approved filing at a time.

A cynic might note that Wall Street only embraces innovation once it's thoroughly sanitized, packaged, and fitted with a hefty management fee. But for the crypto ecosystem, this is the price of admission to the big leagues—and the game has officially changed.

ETF structure and features

The TOXR ETF, once it starts trading, will mirror the CME CF XRP-Dollar Reference Rate, New York Variant. This index is derived from completely regulated trading venues and offers a robust daily mark of XRP’s price.

The fund charges a 0.3% annual sponsor fee, accrued daily and paid weekly in XRP, and uses a multi-custodian system to reduce risk. Ripple Markets supplied 100 million XRP, valued at about $226 million, to provide initial liquidity, with share creation and redemption possible in XRP or cash.

U.S. spot XRP ETF market overview

The approval of TOXR brings the total number of U.S. spot XRP ETFs to five, reflecting growing institutional interest. This follows Franklin Templeton’s launch of its own spot XRP ETF in late November.

Over the past month, four additional U.S. spot XRP ETFs have launched on major stock exchanges. 

• XRPC by Canary Capital on NASDAQ
• GXRP by Grayscale on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE)
• XRP by Bitwise on NYSE
• XRPZ by Franklin Templeton on NYSE

XRPC holds actual XRP tokens in trust, while GXRP and Bitwise’s XRP ETF provide direct exposure to XRP through the NYSE. Together, these funds hold hundreds of millions of dollars in assets and let investors track the cryptocurrency’s performance without actually managing wallets or custody themselves.

Market performance

So far, U.S. spot XRP ETFs have shown strong performance, attracting significant investor interest.

According to SoSoValue, collective inflows into U.S. spot XRP ETFs have reached approximately $954 million, bringing the total close to the $1 billion milestone in just a few short weeks. Remarkably, these funds have not experienced a single day of net outflows, even during periods of market volatility.

In another development, Ripple has released an update for the XRP Ledger that enhances network stability and increases support for DeFi applications. It is targeted at setting the blockchain up for higher activity, improvement in security, and also allowing more sophisticated usage in the growing XRP ecosystem.

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