Ripple releases the quarterly XRP Markets Report to provide transparency and updates on the company’s views on the state of crypto markets and relevant XRP Ledger as well as XRP-related announcements.
As an XRP holder, Ripple says it believes in “proactive” communication and transparency and encourages others in the crypto, web3, and blockchain industry to foster “open communication, build trust, and raise the bar industry-wide.”
Key Highlights are as follows:
- XRP’s status as “not a security” remains the law of the land. Ripple filed its Form C in response to the SEC’s appeal, which does not concern whether XRP is a security.
- Ongoing headwinds from the SEC suggest that its lawsuit against Ripple is a key factor impacting XRP’s price.
- Institutional interest in XRP investment products continued on a very positive trajectory with Bitwise, Canary, and 21Shares filing S-1s for XRP ETFs.
- Leading issuer Grayscale launched an XRP Trust and filed to convert a multi-coin fund that includes XRP into an ETF.
Q3 2024 saw several important factors impact the overall market direction and sentiment “including macroeconomic forces, a long-awaited ETH ETF listing, and growing speculation related to the U.S. presidential election.”
The U.S. Federal Reserve cut rates by 50 basis points, “after a prolonged period of tightening.”
This has seemingly paved the way for several other central banks—namely China, Japan, Europe and the UK—to “follow suit with less restrictive policy. Risk assets, including cryptocurrencies, responded with BTC price increasing over 10% and several alt coins rising by 50% in the following days after the announcement.”
In July, ETH ETFs made a debut in the U.S., with issuers “like BlackRock, Fidelity, and Grayscale entering the market. U.S. ETH ETFs have attracted $552.2 million so far, while U.S. Bitcoin ETFs have sustained impressive momentum, achieving a YTD inflow of $18.5 billion. In 2024, crypto ETFs have indisputably led the ETF space.”
Out of the 529 ETFs launched this year, BlackRock’s IBIT and Fidelity’s FBTC have captured top positions for “highest inflows.”
Notably, among the top 50 ETFs by “assets under management (AUM), 15 are now BTC- or ETH-focused.”
With the court’s decision in the SEC‘s case against Ripple affirming that XRP is “not, in and of itself, a security, XRP and BTC are still the “only two tokens with regulatory clarity in the U.S.”
Since the ruling, every U.S. exchange that delisted XRP has relisted it, and global exchanges have made “progress on the conflation issue between Ripple and XRP, correctly listing XRP on their platforms.”
The CME launched an XRP reference price and Bitnominal announced its intent to introduce “an XRP futures product.”
Bitwise, Canary, and 21Shares filed S-1s for XRP ETFs, while Grayscale launched an XRP Trust and filed to “convert its Digital Large Cap Fund—containing BTC, ETH, SOL, XRP, and AVAX—into an ETF.”
These filings are said to mark a key moment, underscoring institutional interest and demand for products as XRP remains “one of the top ten assets by market cap.”
As publicly reported, Ripple has invested in Bitnomial. It has also indicated an interest in “investing in Bitwise, Canary, and 21Shares products as well as other exchange-traded products.”
ETFs are a significant access point for investors—”especially institutions—to gain exposure to digital assets.”
They are an important maturation step in any market, including crypto, as they bring “legitimacy and trust, which can attract more traditional financial players into the space driving further adoption of cryptocurrencies.”
Lastly, crypto markets have been increasingly “focused on the upcoming U.S. presidential election and its resulting impact on future U.S. crypto regulation.”
The influence of the crypto voting bloc could become “crucial” to candidates’ chances of victory.
With such “narrow margins,” voters invested in the future of crypto in the U.S., particularly in swing states, will likely play a “decisive role” in the outcome.
