The XRP ETF market has gone from zero to seven approved spot funds in under six months, a pace that would’ve seemed impossible while Ripple was still fighting the SEC in court. As of April 2026, investors can buy shares of physically backed XRP ETFs from Canary Capital, Bitwise, Franklin Templeton, Grayscale, 21Shares, REX-Osprey, and Amplify, with combined assets that peaked at $1.65 billion in January before settling around $1 billion. But the story isn’t over. A fresh batch of filings faces a March 27 SEC deadline, Goldman Sachs has quietly built a $153.8 million position across four XRP ETFs, and the regulatory landscape just shifted in ways that matter for every crypto investor watching this space.
Here’s what’s actually happening, who’s involved, and what it means for XRP’s future.
How the XRP ETF Landscape Got Here
The road to a spot XRP ETF was blocked for years by a single obstacle: the SEC’s enforcement action against Ripple Labs, filed in December 2020. The agency alleged that Ripple’s sales of XRP constituted unregistered securities offerings, a classification that made it nearly impossible for any asset manager to file for an ETF holding the token.
That changed in stages. In July 2023, Judge Analisa Torres issued a split ruling in the Southern District of New York: institutional sales of XRP counted as unregistered securities offerings, but programmatic sales on exchanges and other distributions did not. The ruling was unprecedented and immediately reframed the regulatory debate.
By August 2025, both Ripple and the SEC had jointly withdrawn their appeals, locking in Torres’ summary judgment as the final word. Under the settlement terms submitted to Judge Torres, Ripple’s penalty was reduced to $50 million from the original $125 million, with $75 million returned to the company. A permanent injunction now prevents further direct institutional sales of XRP in the U.S., but secondary market trading on exchanges was explicitly cleared.
That legal clarity opened the floodgates for ETF filings.
Every Approved XRP ETF: Tickers, Fees, and AUM
Seven spot XRP ETFs are currently trading in the United States, all physically backed, meaning they hold actual XRP in cold storage rather than using derivatives or futures contracts to track the price.
Canary Capital’s XRPC was first among the pure spot products, launching on November 13, 2025, on Nasdaq with a 0.35% expense ratio and BitGo handling custody. It currently leads all XRP ETFs with approximately $376 million in assets under management.
REX-Osprey’s XRPR technically beat everyone to market in September 2025, though its structure differed slightly from the December wave. By the end of 2025, six additional spot XRP ETFs had launched in rapid succession:
- Canary Capital (XRPC) - Largest AUM (~$376M), 0.35% expense ratio
- Bitwise XRP ETF - Highest daily trading volume, 0.34% expense ratio
- Franklin Templeton (XRPZ) - Lowest fee at 0.19% expense ratio
- Grayscale XRP ETF - Part of Grayscale’s broader crypto ETF suite
- 21Shares XRP ETF - Backed by 21Shares’ European crypto ETP experience
- REX-Osprey (XRPR) - First to market (September 2025)
- Amplify XRP ETF - Latest entrant in the December 2025 cohort
The combined group pulled in $164 million on Day 1 of trading and went 35 consecutive trading days without a single net outflow. Cumulative inflows crossed $1.18 billion by the end of 2025 and reached $1.44 billion by early 2026. Weekly inflows peaked at $43 million in early January before dropping to under $2 million per week by early March, a pattern that mirrors the cooling retail enthusiasm across broader crypto markets during Q1.
The Futures ETFs That Came First
Before spot products existed, ProShares got the SEC’s green light for three XRP futures ETFs that began trading on April 30, 2025. These included a standard XRP futures fund, an Ultra (2x leveraged) fund, and a Short XRP fund.
The ProShares Ultra XRP ETF (UXRP) launched separately in July 2025 as a 2x leveraged product aiming to deliver double the daily performance of XRP through futures contracts. Futures-based XRP products now hold more than $1.4 billion in combined AUM, a figure that helped demonstrate institutional appetite and gave the SEC comfort that the underlying market could support spot products.
The distinction matters for investors. Futures ETFs don’t hold actual XRP; they hold contracts that track XRP’s price, which introduces tracking error and roll costs over time. Spot ETFs hold the real asset, making them generally more efficient for long-term holders. If you’re planning to hold for months or years, spot products like XRPC, XRPZ, or Bitwise’s fund will almost certainly outperform their futures-based counterparts on a net-of-fees basis.
Goldman Sachs and the Institutional Bet
The most telling signal in the XRP ETF market isn’t the retail inflows. It’s Goldman Sachs.
According to SEC 13F filings, Goldman Sachs holds $153.8 million spread across four spot XRP ETFs, making it the largest institutional holder of XRP in the United States. That position accounts for roughly 73% of all disclosed institutional XRP ETF holdings.
The breakdown: 2 million shares of the 21Shares XRP ETF ($35.9M), 1.9 million shares of the Bitwise XRP ETF ($39.8M), 1.9 million shares of the Franklin XRP Trust ($38.4M), and over 1 million shares of the Grayscale XRP ETF (~$37.9M). Goldman’s broader crypto portfolio now spans $1.1 billion in Bitcoin, $1 billion in Ethereum, $108 million in Solana, and the $153.8 million in XRP.
The next 29 institutional holders combined hold about $57 million, a fraction of Goldman’s position. Other names on the list include Millennium Management, Logan Stone Capital, Jane Street, and DRW Securities.
Bloomberg ETF analyst James Seyffart has noted that 13F filings only capture a slice of the full picture. Around 84% of XRP ETF assets still sit with retail investors who don’t file disclosure reports. Goldman’s outsized position relative to other institutions says as much about the early stage of institutional adoption as it does about Goldman’s conviction.
For context on how institutional crypto positioning has evolved, the pattern mirrors what happened with Bitcoin whale accumulation earlier this year, where large holders systematically absorbed supply that retail participants were selling.
The March 2026 Commodity Classification
On March 17, 2026, the SEC and CFTC jointly released a 68-page interpretive release that explicitly classified 16 crypto assets as digital commodities under federal law. XRP was on the list, alongside Bitcoin and Ethereum.
The framework establishes a five-tier classification system: digital commodities, digital collectibles, digital tools, stablecoins, and digital securities. Digital commodities are defined as crypto assets “intrinsically linked to and deriving their value from the programmatic operation of a functional crypto system, as well as supply-and-demand dynamics, rather than from the expectation of profits from the essential managerial efforts of others.”
That language matters because it directly addresses the Howey test framework the SEC had previously used to argue that XRP was a security. By classifying XRP as a commodity under the same framework that Bitcoin and Ethereum spot ETFs were approved through, the SEC has left itself with little statutory ground to deny remaining XRP ETF filings.
It’s worth noting that this is an interpretive release, not legislation. It carries regulatory weight but could theoretically be revised by a future administration. That’s where the CLARITY Act comes in.
The CLARITY Act: Will Congress Make It Permanent?
The Digital Asset Market Clarity Act, which passed the House in July 2025 with a bipartisan 294-134 vote, would codify XRP’s commodity status into federal law and create a comprehensive market structure framework for digital assets.
The bill stalled in the Senate over a dispute about stablecoin yields, specifically whether issuers should be allowed to pass interest from reserve assets through to holders. A compromise reached on March 20 between Senators Tillis and Alsobrooks would prohibit passive yields from “simply holding” stablecoins but allow rewards tied to payments, transfers, or platform usage.
The Senate Banking Committee is targeting a markup in late April 2026. Coinbase Chief Policy Officer Faryar Shirzad predicted a floor vote in May. But the timeline is precarious. As of April 15, the CLARITY Act was removed from the Senate’s daily schedule, and Senator Moreno has warned that if the bill doesn’t pass by May, midterm election dynamics will push it off the table for the rest of 2026.
White House crypto adviser Witt has signaled that other hurdles in the bill are being cleared, which suggests the administration is actively pushing for passage. But until it’s signed into law, XRP’s commodity designation rests on an interpretive framework rather than statute.
For investors, the practical difference is risk. The current classification supports ETF approvals and institutional adoption. Legislation would make that classification durable across administrations. If the CLARITY Act dies in the Senate, the interpretive framework still stands, but it becomes a softer foundation than investors would prefer.
Pending Filings and the March 27 Deadline
Not every firm that filed for an XRP ETF made it through. WisdomTree withdrew its application on January 6, 2026, despite having a structurally complete filing since February. CoinShares pulled its XRP, Solana, and Litecoin ETF filings in late 2025.
The withdrawals aren’t necessarily bearish signals. In several cases, firms pulled filings to refile with updated structures that better aligned with the SEC’s evolving preferences. The remaining applications face a 240-day maximum deadline, which for the latest batch falls around the end of Q2 2026.
Notable absences from the XRP ETF race include BlackRock, Fidelity, and Invesco. BlackRock reportedly requires approximately $3 billion in existing XRP ETF assets before it would consider filing, a threshold the market hasn’t yet reached. Fidelity hasn’t filed for XRP despite its active Bitcoin and Ethereum ETF products. Invesco submitted a Solana ETF but skipped XRP entirely.
If BlackRock were to enter the XRP ETF market, it would likely trigger a significant inflow event similar to what happened when iShares’ Bitcoin Trust (IBIT) launched. But that entry seems contingent on the overall market growing first, creating a chicken-and-egg dynamic where BlackRock’s participation would drive the growth it’s waiting to see.
XRP Price Action and What the ETFs Mean for It
XRP is trading around $1.48 as of mid-April 2026, down significantly from its January peak of $2.42. The market cap sits at approximately $88 billion, making XRP the fourth-largest cryptocurrency by that measure.
The ETF inflow data tells a story of cooling momentum. After the initial launch excitement drove $164 million in Day 1 inflows, the weekly pace has slowed to under $2 million. Combined AUM has dropped from $1.65 billion to roughly $1 billion, reflecting both price depreciation and a slowdown in new capital entering the funds.
That’s not unusual for newly launched ETFs. Bitcoin spot ETFs went through similar cooling periods before finding their footing, and the broader crypto market has been in a corrective phase through Q1 2026. The question for XRP specifically is whether the commodity classification and potential CLARITY Act passage can reignite institutional interest.
Standard Chartered has placed XRP around $2.80 under moderate conditions by year-end 2026, while other analysts project a range of $2.50 to $5.00. The wide spread reflects genuine uncertainty about adoption trajectories, regulatory outcomes, and broader market conditions.
For investors considering exposure through ETFs rather than direct token purchases, the calculus is straightforward: ETFs offer regulatory clarity, custodial security, and tax-lot tracking through standard brokerage accounts. The trade-off is expense ratios (0.19% to 0.35% annually) and the inability to use XRP for on-chain activities like payments or staking.
How XRP ETFs Compare to Bitcoin and Ethereum ETFs
The XRP ETF market is still in its infancy compared to its predecessors. Bitcoin spot ETFs manage approximately $96.5 billion in AUM across all issuers. Ethereum spot ETFs sit at a fraction of that but still dwarf XRP’s $1 billion.
The fee structure is competitive. Franklin Templeton’s XRPZ charges 0.19%, which undercuts most Bitcoin ETFs. Bitwise and Canary are in the 0.34%-0.35% range, comparable to mid-tier Bitcoin fund pricing.
What XRP ETFs lack is the institutional depth that Bitcoin funds have built. Goldman’s $153.8 million position is notable precisely because it’s so unusual. In the Bitcoin ETF world, multiple institutions hold billions. XRP is still waiting for that second wave of institutional adoption, and the CLARITY Act’s fate will likely determine how quickly it arrives.
The comparison also extends to the underlying thesis. Bitcoin ETFs attract investors looking for a digital store of value and inflation hedge, a case that’s been playing out alongside the ongoing gold-vs-Bitcoin debate. Ethereum ETFs appeal to those betting on smart contract platforms and decentralized applications. XRP’s investment case centers on cross-border payments infrastructure and Ripple’s enterprise partnerships, a fundamentally different use case that may attract a different investor profile.
Risks That Could Derail the XRP ETF Story
The bullish narrative is real, but so are the risks.
Regulatory reversal. The March 2026 commodity classification is an interpretive release, not legislation. A future SEC chair could revise or narrow it. If the CLARITY Act fails and political winds shift, XRP’s regulatory status becomes less certain on longer time horizons.
Liquidity concerns. Combined XRP ETF AUM of $1 billion is thin by institutional standards. If a large holder like Goldman were to exit its position, the impact on fund prices could be outsized relative to what you’d see in Bitcoin ETFs with 96x the assets.
Ripple concentration. Ripple Labs still holds a significant portion of total XRP supply in escrow. Monthly escrow releases add selling pressure that doesn’t exist for Bitcoin or Ethereum. Investors in XRP ETFs are exposed to this supply dynamic whether they’re aware of it or not.
Market structure. XRP’s trading volume and market depth, while substantial, still trail Bitcoin and Ethereum by wide margins. During periods of market stress, XRP has historically experienced sharper drawdowns and wider spreads, characteristics that affect ETF pricing efficiency.
BlackRock absence. The largest ETF issuer in the world hasn’t filed for an XRP product. That’s not a death sentence, but it does cap the near-term ceiling for institutional inflows. When BlackRock launched IBIT, it attracted more capital in its first month than most ETFs attract in their lifetime.
What’s Next for XRP ETF Investors
The next several weeks are pivotal. The Senate Banking Committee’s late April markup of the CLARITY Act will determine whether XRP’s commodity status gets legislative backing. The remaining ETF applications face their Q2 deadlines. And the broader crypto market’s direction, tied to Federal Reserve policy and global risk appetite, will set the tone for whether capital flows back into XRP funds or continues its Q1 retreat.
For investors already holding XRP ETFs, the key metric to watch is weekly inflow data. A sustained return to positive flows would signal that the commodity classification is translating into actual capital deployment, not just headline fodder. For those on the sidelines, the entry point question depends on whether you’re buying the regulatory clarity or the price action, because right now, those two stories are telling different things.
The prediction market angle is worth watching too. Platforms like Polymarket have been running contracts on crypto regulatory outcomes, giving investors a real-time read on how the market prices legislative probabilities. It’s another data point in a market that’s still figuring out what XRP is worth now that the legal cloud has lifted.
Frequently Asked Questions
How many XRP ETFs are currently approved and trading in the U.S.?
Seven spot XRP ETFs are currently trading in the United States: Canary Capital (XRPC), Bitwise, Franklin Templeton (XRPZ), Grayscale, 21Shares, REX-Osprey (XRPR), and Amplify. All seven are physically backed, meaning they hold actual XRP in cold storage. In addition, ProShares offers several futures-based XRP ETFs, including leveraged and short products, bringing the total number of XRP-linked ETFs above ten.
Which XRP ETF has the lowest fees?
Franklin Templeton’s XRPZ has the lowest expense ratio at 0.19%, making it the cheapest option among the seven approved spot XRP ETFs. Bitwise charges 0.34% and Canary Capital charges 0.35%. Over a 10-year holding period assuming 8% annual returns, the difference between XRPZ and the more expensive funds could amount to meaningful savings, though trading volume and bid-ask spreads also affect total cost of ownership. Bitwise offers the highest daily trading volume, which means tighter spreads for active traders.
Is XRP classified as a security or a commodity?
As of March 17, 2026, XRP is classified as a digital commodity. The SEC and CFTC jointly issued a 68-page interpretive release that explicitly placed XRP in the digital commodity category alongside Bitcoin and Ethereum. This classification built on the 2023 Torres ruling, which found that programmatic XRP sales on exchanges were not securities transactions. The classification is currently based on regulatory guidance rather than legislation; the CLARITY Act, if passed, would make this status permanent under federal law.
Has the Ripple vs. SEC lawsuit been fully resolved?
Yes. The Ripple vs. SEC lawsuit formally concluded in August 2025 when both parties jointly withdrew their appeals. Under the final settlement terms, Ripple paid $50 million, reduced from the original $125 million penalty, and received $75 million back. A permanent injunction prevents Ripple from making further direct institutional sales of XRP in the U.S., but secondary market trading on exchanges was cleared. Judge Torres’ 2023 split ruling stands as the final precedent.
Will BlackRock launch an XRP ETF?
BlackRock hasn’t filed for an XRP ETF as of April 2026. Reports suggest the firm wants to see approximately $3 billion in existing XRP ETF assets before entering the market, a threshold the current market hasn’t reached with combined AUM around $1 billion. BlackRock’s entry would likely be a major catalyst for inflows, similar to the impact its iShares Bitcoin Trust (IBIT) had on the Bitcoin ETF market. But for now, the largest ETF issuer in the world is sitting on the sidelines.
What's the difference between a spot XRP ETF and a futures XRP ETF?
A spot XRP ETF holds actual XRP tokens in cold storage, giving investors direct exposure to the asset’s price. A futures XRP ETF holds derivative contracts that track XRP’s price but doesn’t own the underlying token. The practical difference is cost and accuracy. Futures ETFs incur roll costs when contracts expire and must be replaced, creating tracking error over time. For long-term holders, spot ETFs like XRPC or XRPZ will generally deliver returns closer to XRP’s actual performance. Futures products like ProShares’ leveraged and short ETFs are better suited for short-term tactical trading.
