Bitwise CIO: XRP ETF Launched After SEC Lawsuit Cleared — Institutions Show Strong Interest
Bitwise CIO Matt Hougan said the firm launched an XRP ETF because regulatory clarity following the end of the SEC lawsuit removed an existential adoption barrier for XRP. Hougan described XRP as a long-standing (Lindy) asset with a strong community whose institutional adoption had been frozen by litigation risk. With the lawsuit concluded in August, Bitwise reserved the ticker and moved quickly to offer a regulated ETF for investors seeking compliant exposure. The ETF drew notable early demand — $25.7 million in first-day trading volume and $107.6 million in assets under management — signalling revived institutional interest. Bitwise positions the product to give institutions a simple, compliance-ready path to allocate capital to XRP, potentially increasing market depth and enabling enterprise partnerships and real-world use cases. The article frames the launch as strategic timing rather than a guarantee of future success; regulatory clarity merely opens the possibility for wider adoption. (Keywords: XRP ETF, Bitwise, SEC lawsuit, institutional interest, regulatory clarity.)
Bullish
The launch of a regulated XRP ETF by Bitwise after the SEC lawsuit offers a clear path for institutional capital to enter XRP. Historical precedent—such as major Bitcoin and Ethereum ETF launches—shows that compliant ETF products attract significant institutional inflows, increase liquidity, and often support price appreciation over time. Early indicators (first-day volume $25.7M; AUM $107.6M) demonstrate tangible demand. In the short term, the ETF can boost volatility as traders front-run flows and rebalance portfolios, but it also deepens order books and reduces liquidity risk. Over the medium to long term, sustained institutional allocations via ETFs tend to be price-supportive by increasing demand and market depth, and by legitimizing the asset to conservative investors. Risks remain: adoption and enterprise partnerships are not guaranteed, macro conditions and crypto-wide sentiment will influence outcomes, and any renewed regulatory shifts could reverse gains. Overall, the news is bullish because it materially lowers an adoption barrier and creates an institutional on-ramp that historically correlates with positive price and liquidity effects.