SEC Delays Decision on Grayscale's XRP ETF Application; Franklin Templeton Files Its Own

The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) announced on Tuesday a delay in its decision regarding Grayscale's application for an XRP exchange-traded fund (ETF). The SEC stated that it requires more time to assess the proposal, potentially extending the decision timeline to mid-October. This follows the initial 45-day review period that began last month. The SEC can extend the timeline up to 240 days after Grayscale's proposal was published to the Federal Registrar, with a May 21 deadline approaching next. Notably, on the same day, Franklin Templeton also filed an application for a spot XRP ETF with the regulator. Several other firms, including Canary Capital, WisdomTree, Bitwise, CoinShares, and 21Shares, have also submitted XRP ETF filings. These filings follow the successful launch of spot Bitcoin ETFs, which now manage close to $100 billion in assets. Last year, Ripple Labs CEO Brad Garlinghouse predicted the approval of an XRP ETF as "inevitable." XRP's price recently rose to $2.19, up nearly 9%, according to the crypto data provider CoinGecko.