Ripple CEO Says Firm is Open to Welcoming a Spot XRP ETF

Brad Garlinghouse, the CEO of financial technology company Ripple Labs, has disclosed that the crypto solutions provider and developer of the Ripple payment protocol would welcome a spot exchange-traded fund (ETF) for the network’s native token, XRP.

Ripple to Welcome Spot XRP ETF

Speaking on his thoughts about the current state of the crypto industry in a Bloomberg interview, Garlinghouse chipped in that creating multiple ETFs around different tokens is inevitable as they would further diversify the risk of trading such investment vehicles. He added that some firms may even launch basket ETFs, containing a collection of multiple crypto assets.

Likening the condition of the crypto ETF space to the earliest days of the stock market, the Ripple CEO explained that investors would not want exposure to just one stock or company, as they would prefer to diversify their risks and portfolio. For this purpose, there would eventually be other funds to diversify the risk from spot Bitcoin ETFs. However, the time of their launch would be difficult to predict.

“You know, the sad reality of what we saw with the Bitcoin ETF is it was only because the court forced the SEC’s hand and really chair Gensler’s hand that we saw that finally come to fruition. And look, in my opinion, it makes these markets safer; it makes them more robust. And so, this is good for the investment community,” Garlinghouse said.

BlackRock’s Face XRP ETF Application

In response to a question about discussions with asset manager BlackRock over the launch of a spot XRP ETF, Garlinghouse declined to comment.

“I know BlackRock has said some things publicly. We think it makes sense for the XRP community overall. Ripple obviously is a very important stakeholder in the XRP ecosystem, but we’re not the only player,” the exec stated.

Talks about a potential spot XRP ETF have been surrounded by dramatic events like the fake filing for the fund in Delaware. News broke in November that BlackRock registered a spot XRP ETF in Delaware shortly after applying for its Ethereum Trust. The news was eventually deemed false, and the case was handed to appropriate authorities.

Meanwhile, some analysts think there is little chance that an XRP ETF will be approved soon as Ripple is still entangled in a lawsuit with the US Securities and Exchange Commission.