Can Grayscale’s XRP Trust Ignite Institutional Interest in XRP?
On January 17, 2024, Grayscale Investments announced the reopening of its XRP Trust for eligible accredited investors, providing a new opportunity for institutional participation in the cryptocurrency market.
The Grayscale XRP Trust enables accredited investors to gain regulated exposure to XRP, the digital asset that powers the XRP ledger, a decentralized network optimized for cross-border payments. The Trust reflects the market price of XRP, minus fees and expenses, allowing investors to benefit without the need to directly manage the cryptocurrency.
XRP functions primarily as a medium for quick and efficient transactions on the Ripple Network, a blockchain system that facilitates the seamless exchange of value.
Since its launch on September 5, 2024, the Grayscale XRP Trust has been benchmarked against the CoinDesk Ripple Price Index (XRX), featuring a performance fee of 0.00% and a management fee of 2.50%, making it a cost-effective option for investors.
This reopening aligns with significant developments surrounding Ripple Labs and its ongoing legal battle with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). In December 2020, the SEC filed a lawsuit against Ripple, alleging that it raised over $1.3 billion through unregistered securities offerings by selling XRP. However, a federal judge’s ruling in July 2023 determined that XRP is not classified as a security when sold to the general public, although sales to institutional investors were deemed unregistered securities transactions. This ruling has positively impacted confidence in XRP’s legal status.
Grayscale has been broadening its digital asset offerings, recently launching additional trusts, including the Lido DAO (LDO) Trust and Optimism (OP) Trust on December 12, 2024. These products complement the Grayscale Sui Trust and the XRP Trust, demonstrating a commitment to diversifying investment opportunities.
As of January 17, 2025, XRP is trading at $3.27, with a 24-hour trading volume of $25.77 billion and a circulating supply of approximately 57.56 billion XRP tokens, resulting in a market capitalization of around $188.23 billion. During the past 24 hours, XRP experienced a notable price increase of 7.01%.
