Franklin Templeton joined the XRP-linked investment products lineup on Monday with the launch of the Franklin XRP Trust (XRPZ) on NYSE Arca. Other big ETF players like BlackRock have yet to file for funds tracking Ripple’s token, and Geraci is on the fence on whether they ever will.

Reacting to commentary from Franklin Templeton’s head of ETF product, calling XRP foundational, President of NovaDius Wealth Management Nate Geraci said there is a competition between asset managers on branded exposure to leading cryptos.

“$1.7tril asset manager Franklin Templeton says xrp ‘plays a foundational role in global settlement infrastructure’… Will be highly interesting to see how world’s largest asset managers draw battle lines around various crypto assets. BlackRock sitting out xrp ETFs, for example,” he wrote on X early Tuesday.

Franklin Templeton’s XRPZ began trading on NYSE Arca with early activity showing 768,692 shares exchanged as of Monday’s close, although full-day inflow figures were not yet available.

David Mann, head of ETF Product and Capital Markets at Franklin Templeton, said Monday: “XRPZ offers investors a convenient and regulated way to access a digital asset that plays a foundational role in global settlement infrastructure, through the transparency and oversight of an ETF.”

Four spot XRP ETFs now live, no word from BlackRock

November has now witnessed four spot ETF funds launch in the span of 12 days, starting with Canary Capital XRP ETF, which commenced trading on Nasdaq under the symbol XRPC on November 13.

Steven McClurg, CEO of Canary Capital, said in announcing the launch: “XRP is one of the most established and widely used digital assets in the world; accessibility to XRP through an ETF will enable the next wave of adoption and growth in a critical blockchain system.”

Bitwise launched its spot XRP ETF on the New York Stock Exchange seven days later under the ticker XRP. CEO Hunter Horsley disclosed yesterday that the firm’s XRP fund attracted about $118 million in inflows last week.

On Monday, Grayscale joined the fray with its Grayscale XRP Trust ETF, offering exposure to investors under the ticker GXRP on NYSE Arca, which has now pushed the number of live spot XRP ETFs to four.

In his post on X, Nate Geraci mentioned that Franklin Templeton, Grayscale, Bitwise, and Canary Capital’s moves could raise competitive pressure on firms that have yet to file for XRP-related products. 

When asked what it would mean for XRP if BlackRock says “nah” for XRP products, he responded with the eye emoji, implying that the digital asset’s institutional demand could suffer without the participation of the largest volume spot Bitcoin ETF issuer.

“At some point, you have to use the product; there is no product in XRPs’ case,” said one crypto enthusiast on X.

Confidence in XRP grew after Ripple Labs and the US Securities and Exchange Commission ended their multi-year court battle after both sides dropped all the appeals last August with a $125 million settlement. 

A court ruling in 2023 by New York Judge Analisa Torres found Ripple’s programmatic sales on exchanges did not violate securities laws, though certain institutional sales were deemed unregistered offerings.

The settlement came on the heels of the SEC’s “change in heart” towards crypto under the second Trump administration, which saw it drop several ongoing investigations, hold industry roundtables, and advance President Trump’s pro-crypto policies. 

Monday ETF debuts aid XRP’s 8.5% rally

XRP has been treading on a climbing lane since this business week began, counting a 24-hour market spike of over 8% to trade at $2.24 at the time of this reporting. The fourth-highest crypto by market cap surged through its week-on-week $2.15 resistance level, supported by a 50% million-volume spike. 

According to some market watchers, the activity pointed to aggressive accumulation by institutional buyers from ETP products, watering down retail-driven swings, profit taking, and short liquidations. 

Market data from CoinGecko showed XRP is currently consolidating between $2.243 and $2.255, as its psychological support at $2.20 held firm during the first retest, which bulls used to purportedly validate the breakout and keep price targets on a possible move toward $2.30.

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