Hashdex Unlocks World’s First Spot XRP ETF On Brazil’s Leading Stock Exchange — Is The US Next?

Brazil has marked a historical turning point after beating the United States to debut the first-ever exchange-traded fund (ETF) that tracks the spot price of Ripple-promoted token, XRP. Hashdex, a Brazilian crypto asset manager, has launched the XRP spot ETF on Brazil’s B3 stock exchange. Brazil Leads With First-Ever Spot XRP ETF XRP is the industry’s fourth most valuable cryptocurrency with a $158 billion market cap as of this writing. But despite its dominance in the cryptosphere, regulatory obstacles have effectively hindered the launch of a spot exchange-traded fund (ETF) until now. Asset manager Hashdex has launched the Hashdex Nasdaq XRP Fundo de Índice, or Hashdex Nasdaq XRP FI, according to a press release from Valor Econômico. Hashdex received the sign-off from Brazil’s Securities and Exchange Commission (CVM) to launch the XRP-based ETF back in February. After the approval by the country’s financial investments regulator, the fund entered into a pre-operational phase. The ETF was undergoing preparatory steps during this time and was not available for trading. Now trading on B3 under the ticker XRPH11, the fund will track the price of XRP across major crypto exchanges using the Nasdaq XRP Reference Price Index. The fund’s approval comes as issuers across the globe aim to address skyrocketing demand for crypto-focused investment products, amid a more friendly regulatory environment for these products and broadening acceptance among retail and institutional investors. Brazil: A Crypto Hub Brazil is notably Latin America’s largest economy, and the third-biggest economy in the Americas after the U.S. and Canada. It is also the region’s most prominent crypto player: Brazil has more Bitcoin ETFs than any other Latin American nation, and many of the country’s major banks offer investors some sort of digital asset exposure. Hashdex currently does not issue a spot Bitcoin ETF in the United States, but in December received approval from the SEC for a combo ETF offering investors exposure to both Bitcoin and Ethereum. J.P. Morgan analysts have predicted that, if approved, U.S.-listed funds could gobble between $4 billion and $8 billion in investor money. Spot Bitcoin funds have accrued over $38 billion in net inflows since going live in January 2024. Their Ethereum equivalents have attracted roughly $4 billion in net flows since trading began last July.