XRP News Today: XRP ETF Bridges Crypto and Traditional Finance as Cross-Border Disruptor

The Bitwise XRP ETF (ticker: XRP) began trading on the New York Stock Exchange on November 20, 2025, marking a significant milestone for institutional and retail investors seeking exposure to the third-largest cryptocurrency by market capitalization. The fund, managed by Bitwise Asset Management-a firm overseeing over $15 billion in client assets-offers direct spot exposure to XRP, the digital asset powering the XRP Ledger blockchain. With a management fee of 0.34%, waived for the first month on the first $500 million in assets, the ETF aims to attract both traditional finance players and crypto-native investors according to Bitwise.

XRP has positioned itself as a disruptor in the $250 trillion cross-border payments market, leveraging its 13-year track record and capabilities for rapid, low-cost transactions. The XRP Ledger has processed over four billion transactions, with an average settlement time of 3–5 seconds and daily volume exceeding $1.9 billion. Bitwise CIO Matt Hougan highlighted XRP's strong community and its potential to thrive under the U.S. crypto-friendly regulatory environment.

The ETF's launch follows the debut of the Canary XRP ETF (XRPC) on November 13, which saw $58 million in trading volume on its first day according to financial reports. Bitwise's product, however, has taken a more aggressive marketing approach, including a live event featuring Ripple CTO David Schwartz and a domain purchase (BitXRPetf.com) to drive awareness according to industry sources. The fund was seeded with 1.12 million XRP tokens ($2.27 million in value) on its first day, signaling the issuer's confidence in its prospects according to launch updates.

Market reactions have been mixed. While XRP's price dipped to $2.10 ahead of the ETF's launch, analysts attributed the decline to typical volatility rather than a bearish trend. The asset has seen a 20% surge in 24-hour spot volume to $5.57 billion, indicating growing institutional interest. Meanwhile, Ripple's On-Demand Liquidity (ODL) service-using XRP to facilitate cross-border payments-processed $1.3 trillion in Q2 2025, underscoring the token's real-world utility.

Regulatory clarity has been a key catalyst. The SEC's August 2025 settlement with Ripple-a $125 million fine with restrictions on institutional XRP sales-has paved the way for broader adoption. The Bitwise ETF's approval reflects a shifting landscape where digital assets are increasingly integrated into traditional financial infrastructure.

Looking ahead, XRP's trajectory could be influenced by its expansion into decentralized finance (DeFi) and tokenized real-world assets (RWAs). The XRP Ledger's Multi-Purpose Token standard is enabling institutions to issue compliant digital assets, while central banks in Singapore and the UAE are testing tokenized debt instruments on the platform. These developments position XRP as a liquidity bridge in a rapidly evolving financial ecosystem.