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The US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has officially acknowledged the receipt of Grayscale Investments’ 19b-4 filing to convert its XRP Trust into a spot exchange-traded fund (ETF). The agency’s confirmation—disclosed by Bloomberg ETF analyst James Seyffart on 14th February—signals the start of the formal review process that could ultimately decide whether the product is cleared for public listing.
James Seyffart, who reported the news via his X account, stated: “There it is — The SEC just acknowledged Grayscale & NYSE’s 19b-4 filing to list an XRP ETF (this was mostly expected but officially means the clock will start soon for this and Dogecoin).”
Why This Is An ‘Enormous Message’ For Ripple
The SEC’s acknowledgment kicks off a regulatory timetable, opening a window for public commentary and multiple rounds of decision-making. The agency is expected to follow this step-by-step procedure to either approve, reject, or request additional information concerning the proposed XRP ETF.
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Although formal acknowledgment does not guarantee an approval further down the line, it underscores that the SEC is sufficiently engaged to put the filing on the official docket. Nate Geraci, President of the ETF Store and Co-Founder of the ETF Institute, underlined the significance of this action in the context of the SEC’s ongoing legal dispute with Ripple.
He remarked: “SEC has acknowledged NYSE’s 19b-4 filing to list & trade Grayscale XRP ETF… Obviously a potentially huge statement re: SEC’s case vs Ripple.” Geraci further elaborated on what he perceives as a remarkable development: “Shocked more people aren’t talking about SEC accepting XRP ETF filing… They have open litigation w/ Ripple. Meanwhile, they just acknowledged filing of ETF holding asset in dispute (they easily could have rejected this filing). Enormous message IMO.”
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These statements highlight how the SEC’s willingness to initiate the review process—rather than dismissing it outright—could indicate the SEC’s openness to settle or drop the Ripple case which is currently at the Court of Appeals.
Fox Business journalist Eleanor Terrett provided additional context on why the acknowledgment alone is noteworthy: “Because it means this SEC is being more open-minded and not flat out refusing to consider these products. Recall, exchanges pulled the SOL 19b-4 applications in December when the Gensler SEC signaled it would not engage with them. […] Next up, the SEC should acknowledge the XRP ETF applications from issuers that filed later than Grayscale — including Bitwise, 21Shares, Canary Funds, Wisdom Tree. The 240-day window for Grayscale’s approval starts when it gets posted to the federal register which should be in a couple of days from now.”
Following the announcement, XRP’s price rose by over 5% in a relatively muted overall market. However, technical analysis of the XRP/USDT 4-hour chart indicates that as of press time, the token failed to break through a major resistance level. The rejection occurred at the 0.5 Fibonacci retracement (Fib) around $2.58. If buyers manage to push XRP above this threshold, the next critical resistance is near $2.77 (the 0.618 Fib). A sustained rally beyond that point could see the token retest its January 25 high at $3.40.
Featured image created with DALL.E, chart from TradingView.com
