Ripple’s CEO, Brad Garlinghous, is feeling pretty optimistic about the future of XRP. He declared that he believes a spot XRP ETF is inevitable.
Growing demand for crypto ETFs
In an interview on Bloomberg Television, Garlinghouse pointed to the booming interest in Bitcoin ETFs as proof that people want more cryptocurrency-based financial products.
Since Bitcoin ETFs were approved back in January, $17 billion flowed into them, making it the fastest-growing ETF in history.
“This clearly shows there’s demand from both institutions and everyday investors to get into this asset class.”
With this growing appetite for crypto ETFs, other companies are jumping on the bandwagon.
Just earlier this month, Bitwise became the first firm to file for an XRP ETF with the U.S. SEC. Shortly after, another firm called Canary jumped in with its own application for a Canary XRP ETF.
Legal challenges looming, and you can guess, it’s the SEC
Now, before we get too excited, Garlinghouse did acknowledge that getting a spot XRP ETF approved might not be a walk in the park.
The ongoing legal battle between Ripple and the SEC could throw a wrench in the works.
Back in 2020, the SEC slapped Ripple with a $1.3 billion lawsuit, claiming they sold unregistered securities in the form of XRP.
Last year, U.S. District Judge Analisa Torres ruled that XRP is considered a security when sold to institutional investors, a decision that many saw as a win for Ripple and the whole crypto community. But the SEC isn’t done yet, they’ve appealed parts of that ruling.
The future is bright for crypto ETFs?
Legal hurdles are painful in short term, but Garlinghouse remains upbeat about the future of crypto ETFs and what they could mean for institutional involvement in the market.
He believes that as more firms seek to offer crypto ETFs, it will only strengthen the case for XRP.
