SEC XRP Approval: ProShares to Launch Futures ETFs April 30

SEC XRP Approved: Futures ETFs for ProShares, Spot ETF Still Pending

The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission has formally sanctioned ProShares Trust to list a number of XRP futures ETFs. The new ETFs will begin trading on April 30, 2025. The SEC, however, still hasn't granted approval for spot XRP ETFs yet.

What ProShares Is Offering

ProShares, which already has Bitcoin ETFs on the market, is introducing three new products linked to futures. These include:

• ProShares Ultra XRP ETF (2x leverage)

• ProShares Short XRP ETF (-1x inverse leverage)

• ProShares UltraShort XRP ETF (-2x inverse leverage)

These are designed to give investors a way to bet on coin's price movement without directly buying the cryptocurrency. The products will track the price through an index referred to as the Ripple Index.

How We Got Here

ProShares initially sought to launch these fun on January 17, 2025, shortly after Donald Trump, who is famously pro-crypto, was elected President. The SEC has since considered the request and has now approved it.

It should be noted that ProShares also submitted an application for a spot category, but that remains pending. Unlike futures, spot ETFs would directly follow the actual market price of coin.

Not the First in the Market

ProShares isn't the first company to bring to investors. Teucrium launched it earlier this month on April 8, trading on the New York Stock Exchange.

Internationally, Hashdex recently brought a spot Ripple ETF in Brazil which is the first in the world. This event showcases that other countries are going forward than the U.S. in approving crypto spot products.

Concurrently, the CME Group disclosed plans to introduce Ripple futures contracts starting from May 19 as part of its endeavor to address increasing demands for crypto options outside of Ethereum and Bitcoin.

Post this approval the coin's prices increased by 4.67% in one day. It is currently trading at $2.26 as per the reports of CoinMarketCap. 

Source: CoinMarketCap

Why This Matters

The approval of ProShares' futures is a significant advance for the cryptocurrency sector. It is a way for traders and investors to earn money from the price fluctuations of the currency without necessarily holding the token.

Analysts think that increased ETF choices, particularly for widely popular altcoins such as Ripple Coin and Solana, may bring bigger institutional investors to the crypto space. Initial indications are that there is already increased attention, as both these coins experienced increased institutional demand since the new products were introduced.

Futures-based exchange-traded funds provide an easier and more secure way for investors to trade risky crypto assets without exposing themselves to the dangers of holding them directly, like hacking or private key loss.