Canada races to launch world’s first XRP ETF before the US

Purpose Investments, a Canadian asset manager, has officially filed a preliminary prospectus today to launch the world’s first spot XRP exchange-traded fund (ETF) on the Toronto Stock Exchange.

This is a race against the US, where multiple companies have already filed but are yet to get approved. In their press release, Purpose Investments said they’re betting Canada will get there first.

The XRP ETF reportedly plans to hold long-term Ripple (XRP) assets and give investors an easy, regulated way to profit from XRP’s growth. “As XRP sees increasing adoption and institutional interest, we believe an ETF can offer investors a transparent and familiar way to access it within a regulated framework,” said Som Seif, CEO of Purpose Investments.

Grayscale fights for its XRP ETF approval in the US

Meanwhile, in America, Grayscale Investments filed an application on January 30, to convert its existing XRP Trust into an ETF. They submitted the proposal to the New York Stock Exchange and tapped Coinbase Custody Trust Company as their official custodian.

Grayscale manages $16.1 million in XRP through its current trust, and converting it into an ETF would let it expand access to more investors. The company is optimistic because they believe the SEC will finally budge under new regulatory leadership.

Michael Sonnenshein, Grayscale’s CEO, said, “We believe that allowing shares of the Trust to list and trade on the Exchange as an ETF would provide investors with a way to invest in XRP on a regulated national securities exchange.”

CoinShares and Bitwise join the battle

CoinShares, a major European digital asset manager, has also filed for an XRP ETF. Their application hit regulators in early January 2025, though they’ve been tight-lipped about where the fund would be listed or how much XRP they plan to manage.

Not to be left out, Bitwise Asset Management also submitted its own XRP ETF application around the same time as CoinShares. Bitwise, already a big player in crypto index funds, wants to take advantage of its reputation to gain approval.

But like CoinShares, they’ve kept many details under wraps, and with Canada making faster moves, it seems US companies are at risk of losing ground. Wouldn’t be the first time either, as we saw with Bitcoin, Ethereum, and even Solana ETFs.

The sudden rush for XRP ETFs follows Ripple’s legal victory against the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and also ‘crypto president’ Donald Trump’s return to the Oval Office.

After Gary Gensler stepped down as SEC chairman, Trump appointed Mark Uyeda as acting chair until Paul Atkins (who is extremely pro-crypto) could take over after his Senate confirmation. This change in leadership is making crypto insiders hopeful that the SEC will become crypto-friendly.

According to Polymarket, there’s an 82% chance that the US will approve at least one XRP ETF in 2025. Back in January, this prediction hit 89% right after Trump’s inauguration, but it dropped slightly as the SEC continued to review applications.

More than half of Polymarket participants expect the first approval to come by July 31, 2025. If that happens, Grayscale, CoinShares, and Bitwise could get their chance—but Canada is positioned to steal the global spotlight if Purpose’s application is approved first.

Cryptopolitan Academy: Are You Making These Web3 Resume Mistakes? - Find Out Here