CBOE Seeks XRP ETF Approval as SEC Appears Ready to Advance ETF Applications for Several Coins

On 6th February, the Chicago Board Options Exchange (CBOE), the largest options exchange in the world, submitted multiple 19b-4 applications to the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), seeking approval to list and trade spot XRP ETFs issued by Bitwise, 21Shares, Canary, and WisdomTree.

All four applicants rely on Ripple XRP's partial victory in the years-long legal battle with the SEC on whether XRP should be classified as a security under Federal law.

The filings stated that CBOE "believes it is applying proper legal standards in making a good faith determination that XRP is not, under these circumstances, a security under federal law." The SEC has 45 days to review the applications after they are published in the Federal Register, but the review period could extend to 90 days.

As of now, Thursday's filings could unpredictably impact XRP prices, as the digital token has yet to receive the regulatory status granted to Bitcoin and Ethereum. XRP prices dropped sharply in the ongoing crypto industry slump amid US President Donald Trump's raging trade war. The token price fell from a record high of £2.65 ($3.3) in mid-January to £1.91 ($2.38) on 7th February.

SEC Acknowledges ETF Filing After Earlier Refusals

Leading asset managers are preparing to launch the first spot XRP ETFs in the US after Bitcoin and Ethereum's major breakthrough in 2024.

The XRP ETF plans could gain momentum as the SEC acknowledged Grayscale's filings to convert its Solana and Litecoins Trusts into ETFs yesterday. This is the Commission's first step toward allowing new crypto ETFs to track the prices of assets like Solana and Litecoin. The SEC has until October to approve or reject Grayscale's application.

Furthermore, the SEC could also overhaul processes related to redeeming funds from existing crypto ETFs as it acknowledged BlackRock's proposal to enable in-kind creations and redemptions on the iShares Bitcoin ETF.

It is important to note that the SEC had previously refused to acknowledge applications for crypto ETFs tracking digital assets like Solana and Litecoin. It even urged the CBOE to remove its previously uploaded 19b-4 filings for those proposed ETFs.

Overall, Bloomberg Intelligence ETF analyst Eric Balchunas said the SEC's acknowledgement was "notable" because it is the first time an ETF filing for a cryptocurrency that was previously deemed a "security" has been acknowledged by the SEC.

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