CoinShares unveils ripple ETP

XRPL will be CoinShares’s fourth launch of 2021 so far

CoinShares has launched a ripple exchange traded product (ETP), its fourth physical crypto ETP this year. 

The CoinShares Physical XRP (XRPL) will list on the SIX Swiss Exchange with a total expense ratio (TER) of 1.50%. 

XRPL aims to physically replicate the performance of ripple (XRP) with each unit of the ETF backed by 40 XRP at launch. 

Townsend Lansing, head of ETPs at CoinShares, commented: “Once we determine that a professional-calibre product is feasible, and it appears that demand exists to make a liquid market for trading the product, we bring the product to fruition”. 

Frank Spiteri (pictured), chief revenue officer at CoinShares, added: “The digital asset ecosystem is vast and still growing at breakneck speed.

“As we continue to diversify our product offering in 2021, we are focused on providing investment exposure to those assets and networks that resonate most with our European client base.”

Though gaining momentum alongside other cryptocurrencies in 2020, XRP ran into controversy at the turn of the year as the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) alleged ripple was a security and not a currency.

Based on this, the regulator filed a lawsuit against XRP’s creator for illegally marketing the crypto asset to retail investors and not providing consumers with the necessary information on the risks involved.

While this news saw 21Shares remove XRP from the generalised holdings of its 21Shares Crypto Basket ETP (HODL), the asset has recorded a bumper start to 2021.

Having dipped by 65% in the four weeks to 29 December 2020, XRP’s value shot up from $0.2 to $1.7 between 29 December and 13 April.

Seeking to offer exposure to cryptos enjoying an uptick in support, XRPL becomes CoinShares’s eighth product. The new ETP also follows the recent launch of the company’s litecoin strategy, the CoinShares Physical Litecoin (LITE), on 6 April.