WisdomTree files Ripple XRP-ETF application with SEC

A new ETF filing and increasing activity from large investors have sent XRP soaring nearly 100 percent in a week. But how long will this price appreciation last?

On December 2 WisdomTree submitted an application for an XRP Spot ETF with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), according to documents published by the authority. This makes the asset manager the fourth company to apply for such an ETF. Previously, Bitwise, 21Shares and Canary did so.

Starting in January, the SEC will no longer be headed by its current chairman, Gary Gensler, which could potentially affect the processing of these applications. According to the documents filed, Coinbase will act as both a transaction executor and custodian of the ETF. WisdomTree already uses Coinbase for its approved Bitcoin Spot ETF (BTCW), which was launched in January of this year.

The announcement of Gensler's resignation created a wave of optimism in the crypto world. Ripple, which has been embroiled in a protracted legal battle with the SEC since 2020, seems to have benefited the most. In the past four weeks, XRP rose a whopping 425 percent, adding to its value Solana's entire market capitalization. XRP is now the third largest asset in the crypto market, ahead of Solana (SOL) and Tether (USDT).

Not only large institutions, but also cryptowhales are joining in on the recent hype surrounding Ripple. On-chain data from CryptoQuant show that XRP is currently experiencing the highest activity in its history. However, one analyst warns that this high actvity could potentially lead to a sharp correction in the XRP price.

Historically, periods of significant "whale-to-stock market transactions" correlate with local price spikes of XRP. This indicator recently reached a new record, indicating that whales are moving their XRP assets to exchanges, presumably to take profits soon.

Whether the old record of over $3 will still be reached before a possible correction takes place remains to be seen.