- Volatility Shares has launched XRPI, the first non-leveraged XRP futures ETF in the US.
- The fund is investing at least 80% of its assets in XRP futures contracts and XRP-linked ETPs via a Cayman-based subsidiary.
- But despite ETF momentum and favorable regulatory milestones, XRP’s price remains stagnant around US$2.50, underperforming the broader crypto rally. Still, XRP futures open interest has surged 31% to US$2.2 billion.
Volatility Shares has launched the first US exchange-traded fund (ETF) offering exposure to Ripple’s XRP via futures, a notable expansion in crypto ETF products amid growing speculation around spot approval.
Trading under the ticker $XRPI on Nasdaq, the new fund doesn’t hold XRP directly. Instead, it invests primarily in futures contracts linked to the token, with at least 80% of its assets allocated to XRP derivatives, mainly those traded on the Chicago Mercantile Exchange (CME). The strategy is executed through a Cayman Islands-based subsidiary.
The ETF joins the Volatility Shares Trust lineup and comes as the firm eyes further offerings, including a 2x leveraged version designed to amplify daily performance of XRP futures. That product, yet to launch, would be among the first of its kind in the altcoin derivatives space.
Bloomberg ETF analyst Eric Balchunas called the fund a “market first”.
An Odd Scenario
Despite all of these developments, the hype and the good news, XRP is just not budging. Its price has been pretty much running sideways in the last three months, struggling to reach past US$2.50 (AU$3.9).
It’s quite an odd situation, but maybe all of these developments were already priced in. In a sense, XRP maxis got everything they asked for in 2025: a listing as a US Digital Asset Reserve candidate in March, and a long-awaited settlement between Ripple Labs and the SEC in May.
But none of it has stopped the token from falling behind the broader crypto market, which is a rally following Bitcoin’s new ATH. Ripple is even leveraging its DFSA license to launch its blockchain payments platform in the UAE.
However, it seems open interest (OI) in XRP futures hit 923 million tokens on May 22, a 31% increase over the past two weeks, according to CoinGlass. That translates to roughly US$2.2B (AU$3.43B) in leveraged positions. This can be viewed as evidence of mounting speculation, though not necessarily bullish positioning, as futures can be used to bet both ways.
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