XRP ETFs Explained: What They Hold and Who They Suit
8 min read · Updated
What an XRP ETF actually is
An exchange-traded fund is a pot of assets whose shares trade on a stock exchange, next to Apple and Toyota. A spot XRP ETF keeps real XRP with a custodian and issues shares against it. You buy a share through the brokerage account you already have, and you own a claim on a slice of that XRP.
The share price follows the XRP price, minus the fund's expense ratio. That fee comes out of the fund's assets a little every day, so no invoice ever arrives. The holding simply drifts a little behind spot XRP over time.
In Europe the same idea usually arrives as an exchange-traded product, or ETP, rather than an ETF. European fund rules do not let a UCITS fund hold a single asset, so issuers use a debt security backed one-for-one by XRP in cold storage. Day to day it behaves like an ETF. Legally it is not one, and that difference matters if the issuer runs into trouble.
Spot versus futures products
Two very different things get called an XRP ETF.
- Spot: the fund buys XRP and holds it. The value moves with the XRP price, one for one, less fees.
- Futures-based: the fund holds XRP futures contracts instead of coins. Contracts expire, so the fund keeps rolling into new ones. Rolling costs money, and over months the return can drift noticeably from spot XRP.
There is a third shape worth knowing about. Some US funds registered under the Investment Company Act of 1940 take their XRP exposure indirectly, often through an offshore subsidiary. The REX-Osprey XRP ETF, which started trading in September 2025, is built that way. The ticker will not tell you which kind you are holding. The fund's own factsheet will.
How XRP ETFs reached the market
Two dated events opened the US door. In August 2025, Ripple and the SEC closed their long-running case: XRP traded on public exchanges was not treated as a security, Ripple's direct institutional sales were, and Ripple paid a $125 million penalty. Then on 17 September 2025 the SEC approved generic listing standards for commodity-based trust shares, which let Nasdaq, NYSE Arca and Cboe BZX list a qualifying crypto product without a separate rule filing for each one. The first US spot XRP ETF began trading two months later, in November 2025.
Notable XRP products
As of September 2026, six US spot XRP ETFs are trading and hold roughly 1.1 billion XRP between them, worth around $1.5 billion. Those numbers move every day. The fees and dates below were checked in September 2026, several funds opened with temporary fee waivers, so confirm the current figure on the issuer's factsheet before buying.
| Fund | Ticker | Market | Issuer | Expense ratio | Launched |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bitwise XRP ETF | XRP | United States | Bitwise | 0.34% | Nov 2025 |
| Franklin XRP ETF | XRPZ | United States | Franklin Templeton | 0.19% | 24 Nov 2025 |
| Canary XRP ETF | XRPC | United States | Canary Capital | 0.50% | Nov 2025 |
| Grayscale XRP Trust ETF | GXRP | United States | Grayscale | 0.35% | 24 Nov 2025 |
| 21Shares XRP ETF | TOXR | United States | 21Shares | 0.30% | Dec 2025 |
| REX-Osprey XRP ETF | XRPR | United States | REX Shares and Osprey | 0.75% | Sep 2025 |
| Purpose XRP ETF | XRPP | Canada (TSX) | Purpose Investments | 0.69% | 18 Jun 2025 |
| Evolve XRP ETF | XRP | Canada (TSX) | Evolve | 0.75% | 18 Jun 2025 |
| 3iQ XRP ETF | XRPQ | Canada (TSX) | 3iQ | Verify with the issuer | 18 Jun 2025 |
| WisdomTree Physical XRP | XRPW | Europe | WisdomTree | 0.50% | Verify with the issuer |
| CoinShares Physical XRP | XRPL | Europe | CoinShares | 1.50% | Verify with the issuer |
| 21Shares XRP ETP | AXRP | Europe | 21Shares | 2.50% | 2019 |
United States
The US market went from nothing to six spot funds in about a year. Franklin Templeton's XRPZ is the cheapest at 0.19% a year, Bitwise's XRP is the largest by assets, and Canary's XRPC was first out of the gate in November 2025.
Canada, Europe and Australia
Canada moved first in North America. Purpose, Evolve and 3iQ all listed XRP ETFs on the Toronto Stock Exchange on 18 June 2025, and two of them opened with temporary 0% management fee waivers to compete on price.
Europe has had physically backed XRP products for far longer. 21Shares listed AXRP back in 2019, and WisdomTree and CoinShares followed with their own, trading on Xetra, SIX Swiss Exchange and Euronext. Fees in Europe run higher than in the US, from 0.50% to 2.50%.
Australia is the gap. As of September 2026 we could not verify an XRP-only fund listed on the ASX or Cboe Australia. Australian investors generally reach these products through a broker that offers US or European listings, so check with your broker and the exchange.
ETF versus buying XRP directly
The two routes give the same price exposure and little else in common.
| What changes | XRP ETF or ETP | XRP you hold yourself |
|---|---|---|
| Custody | The fund's custodian holds the XRP, you hold shares | You hold the keys, or your exchange holds them for you |
| Fees | An annual expense ratio, roughly 0.19% to 2.50%, plus brokerage commission | A one-off trading fee, then a network fee of a fraction of a cent |
| Trading hours | Stock exchange hours, so closed on weekends and holidays | 24 hours a day, every day of the year |
| Account types | Fits an IRA or 401(k) in the US, a TFSA or RRSP in Canada, a broker account in Germany | Usually sits outside those tax wrappers |
| Taxes | Reported by your broker like any other security | You track cost basis and disposals yourself |
| Sending or using it on the XRPL | Not possible, you cannot withdraw the XRP | Send it, pay with it, trade it on the ledger |
| Tracking | Small drift from spot XRP from fees and premium or discount | You hold the asset itself, so no tracking gap |
| If something goes wrong | An issuer, a custodian and a fund structure sit between you and the XRP | Lose your keys and the XRP is gone for good |
Who each route suits
The fund route tends to suit people who already have a brokerage account and want XRP sitting beside their other holdings, people who want the exposure inside a tax-sheltered account, and people who would rather not be responsible for a seed phrase. Institutions with mandates that forbid holding crypto directly are in the same position.
Holding XRP yourself tends to suit people who want to use it: send payments, hold RLUSD alongside it, trade on the ledger. It also suits people who want the lowest ongoing cost, because an expense ratio charged every year for a decade adds up and a one-off purchase fee does not.
Doing both is common and perfectly reasonable. None of this is investment advice, and no wrapper makes XRP a safe asset.
Risks to understand
- Premium and discount: a share can trade slightly above or below the value of the XRP behind it. Market makers usually close that gap quickly, but it can widen when markets are stressed, or when crypto trades overnight and the stock exchange is shut.
- Issuer and custodian risk: you are trusting a fund company and a custodian to keep the XRP safe and honestly accounted for. That risk is small at a large regulated issuer, but it is not zero, and it is structurally higher for a European ETP, which is a debt security rather than a fund.
- The fund does not give you XRP: there is no redemption in kind for ordinary holders. You cannot take delivery of the coins and you cannot send them anywhere.
- Fees compound: at 0.50% a year, a decade quietly takes about 5% of the position, whatever the XRP price does in the meantime.
- Price risk does not go away: the wrapper does not make the asset less volatile. XRP has fallen more than 70% from a high before, and it can do it again.
Frequently asked questions
Is there an XRP ETF in the US, Canada, Germany or Australia?
As of September 2026: yes in the United States, where six spot XRP ETFs trade on Nasdaq and NYSE Arca. Yes in Canada, where Purpose, Evolve and 3iQ have been listed on the Toronto Stock Exchange since June 2025. Yes in Germany in ETP form, with 21Shares, WisdomTree and CoinShares products on Xetra. For Australia we could not verify an XRP-only listing on the ASX or Cboe Australia, so ask your broker.
Does an XRP ETF pay dividends?
No. XRP produces no yield, because there is no staking on the XRP Ledger, so the fund has nothing to distribute. Your only return is the share price, and the expense ratio works against it every year you hold.
Can I hold one in a retirement account?
Usually yes, and that is one of the main reasons these products exist at all. US brokers generally allow spot crypto ETFs inside an IRA, and Canadian ones inside a TFSA or RRSP. Whether your specific plan or provider permits it is a question for them.
The bottom line
A spot XRP ETF is a convenience product. It gives you XRP price exposure inside the account you already use, hands custody to someone else, and charges a small annual fee for the service. What it does not give you is XRP.
If price exposure is all you want, the fund is the simpler path, and the cheapest US product charges 0.19% a year. If you want to hold, send or actually use XRP, no fund will do that for you. Decide which of the two you want before you start comparing tickers, and never put in money you cannot afford to lose.