Will BlackRock Move To Altcoins Like XRP And Solana For Spot ETFs Next?

With the Spot Bitcoin and Ethereum ETF already trading, there have been discussions about whether or not fund issuers will apply for other crypto ETFs. Specifically, market experts have questioned if the world’s largest asset manager, BlackRock, will file for spot ETFs for other altcoins like Solana and XRP.

BlackRock Unlikely To File For Spot ETFs For Solana And XRP

BlackRock will unlikely file for spot ETFs for Solana and XRP anytime soon. This is based on BlackRock’s digital assets head, Robert Mitchnick, who stated that the asset manager sees “very little interest” in crypto beyond Bitcoin and Ethereum. This suggests that BlackRock will likely just stick with its Spot Bitcoin and Ethereum ETFs rather than pursue offering any other crypto ETF.  

Charles Gasparino, an American journalist and senior correspondent at Fox Business, had also previously dismissed the possibility of BlackRock filing for a Spot XRP ETF. His declaration came following an interview that BlackRock’s CEO Larry had with Gasparino in which he had evaded the question about the possibility of launching a Spot XRP ETF. 

Fink’s elusive reply made members of the XRP community speculate that BlackRock may have been considering an XRP ETF. However, Gasparino later cleared the air and revealed that Fink lacked in-depth information about XRP, so he didn’t have an elaborate answer to Gasparino’s question about a potential BlackRock XRP ETF. 

While BlackRock might not be interested in other altcoins, fund issuers like VaEck and 21Shares see potential in altcoins like Solana and have already applied to offer the first-ever Spot Solana ETFs in the US. Asset manager Franklin Templeton has also taken an interest in Solana, having once predicted that it would soon become the third-largest crypto by market cap. However, it remains to be seen if the asset manager will eventually file for a Spot Solana ETF.  

Other fund issuers are expected to take notice of Solana sooner rather than later, considering the explosive growth the crypto token has already enjoyed in this bull run. Brian Kelly, founder of digital assets investment firm BKCM, previously mentioned that Solana will likely be the next to get its own ETF, considering that it is part of the ‘big 3’ for this cycle alongside Bitcoin and Ethereum. 

The Possibility Of A Spot XRP ETF

While no asset manager has yet to file for a Spot XRP ETF in the US, there are expectations that it will eventually happen. Ripple CEO Brad Garlinghouse mentioned at the Consensus 2024 conference that it is only a matter of time before the market witnesses a Spot XRP ETF and that such a fund is “inevitable.”

However, a firm like VanEck has suggested they may not be looking to file for a Spot XRP ETF soon. This follows the firm’s Head of Digital Assets Research, Mattew Sigel’s explanation of why they filed for a Spot Solana ETF and not any other fund like a Spot XRP ETF. Sigel mentioned that Solana is just as decentralized as Ethereum, as no single entity controls more than 20% of the token’s circulating supply, nor can anyone unilaterally halt the chain. 

The same cannot exactly be said about XRP, considering how much of the token’s supply Ripple holds. As such, that could put a big question mark on XRP’s decentralized nature. Meanwhile, the US Securities and Exchange Commission’s (SEC) case against Ripple could be another obstacle to any potential application for a Spot XRP ETF. 

Featured image created with Dall.E, chart from Tradingview.com