- Franklin Templeton filed its application for a spot XRP exchange-traded fund.
- The $1.6 trillion asset manager joins a hot race to land approval.
- Analysts predict as much as $800 million will pour into an XRP ETF in its first week.
Franklin Templeton is joining the growing list of issuers vying to launch the industry’s first spot XRP exchange-traded fund.
On Wednesday, the $1.6 trillion investment management giant filed its application with the Securities and Exchange Commission to issue an ETF that tracks the price of XRP, the market’s fourth-largest cryptocurrency.
The price of XRP has led the crypto market’s recent rebound and jumped another 9% to $2.22, according to CoinGecko.
It’s more than 35% off its all-time high set back in 2018.
Franklin Templeton filed a similar application for a Solana product and refiled another application for a crypto index product, which tracks several cryptocurrencies in one fund, in February.
Altcoin ETF frenzy
There are ETFs for Ethereum and Bitcoin in the US, but several issuers, including 21Shares, Bitwise, and Canary Capital, have filed a flurry of applications for a slew of other cryptocurrencies.
There are currently applications in play for Dogecoin, Litecoin, Hedera, Solana, and XRP, among others.
Since President Donald Trump took office in January, issuers are betting that a friendlier SEC — the agency that rubber stamps ETF approvals — will take a more lenient approach in approving new crypto funds.
Big name enters XRP ETF race…
— Nate Geraci (@NateGeraci) March 12, 2025
$1.5+ trillion asset manager Franklin Templeton. pic.twitter.com/D9RBSE3ckm
It took Bitcoin and Ethereum more than a decade before either asset landed approval.
Bitcoin ETFs debuted to huge success and accrued more than $107 billion in assets under management ― a record for the ETF market.
It remains to be seen whether there is enough investor appetite to send other funds to record highs. Ethereum ETFs, for instance, saw muted investor interest compared to Bitcoin.
Analysts at JP Morgan predict, however, that an XRP ETF would see over $800 million in investment within its first week.
But how likely is approval for additional crypto funds?
When approval?
Meryem Habibi, chief revenue officer at crypto payment gateway Bitpace, said Trump’s endorsement of altcoins like XRP for a possible US crypto reserve should accelerate the approval of altcoin ETFs.
Still, it may take some time.
On Tuesday, the SEC delayed its decision for various XRP applications, including filings from Grayscale, Canary Capital, CoinShares, Wisdom Tree, Bitwise and 21Shares.
The agency has until the end of May to decide on these applications.
Liam Kelly is a Berlin-based reporter for DL News. Got a tip? Email him at liam@dlnews.com.