Bitwise Takes a Step Toward XRP ETF

Crypto native asset manager Bitwise is moving toward creating an exchange-traded fund tracking XRP$2.4999, the token closely associated with crypto company Ripple.

The firm registered a trust entity in the state of Delaware on Tuesday, which appeared on the state’s Division of Corporations website. Registering a trust entity is a first step toward filing to list and trade shares of an ETF; companies like Bitwise, Blackrock and Fidelity all filed trust entities for bitcoin BTC$102,395.95 and Ethereum's ether ETH$3,461.69 ahead of filing for ETFs following those tokens.

A spokesperson for Bitwise confirmed that the filing was real.

“We can now confirm that this is both legitimate and from Bitwise,” the spokesperson said.

This isn’t the first time that rumors about a potential XRP ETF have circulated.

Similar filings, which later turned out to be illegitimate, have previously been uploaded to the website in an attempt to pump the token's price.

In November, for example, a filing for an apparent BlackRock XRP ETF appeared on the website, which was later confirmed by the asset manager to be false.

Despite the news, XRP's price has not fluctuated much Tuesday, though much of the broader market fell heavily over the past 24 hours.