Key Takeaways
Why are all issuers updating XRP ETFs?
To allow them to launch despite the ongoing government shutdown.
How is the market positioned for the launch?
Traders were overly cautious amid the extended, broader market pullback.
Amid the market chaos, there is good news, at least for the Ripple [XRP] community.
According to Bloomberg ETF analyst James Seyffart, Franklin Templeton, alongside Canary Capital and Bitwise, has filed updated spot XRP ETFs that would allow the products to begin trading despite the ongoing government shutdown.
Source: X
Seyffart added that the changes would enable the products to begin trading this month. If so, they’ll join other altcoin ETFs, such as Solana [SOL], Litecoin [LTC], and Hedera Hashgraph [HBAR].
For perspective, the recently approved Spot SOL ETFs also went live after making updated filings that allowed them to launch without the SEC’s greenlight.
Assessing XRP market positioning
That said, a U.S. spot XRP ETF launch would mark a new precedent, especially after Ripple Labs endured an SEC lawsuit for five years. Nate Geraci, co-founder of ETF Prime, echoed a similar sentiment and added,
“Launch of spot XRP ETFs represents final nail in the coffin of previous anti-crypto regulators. Have come a long way.”
On the market front, however, the XRP price was largely influenced by the broader market sentiment rather than the update.
It extended its correction to $2.0 before clawing back to $2.2. Overall, it was down about 12% in November ahead of a likely death cross that could drag it lower if sentiment does not improve.
Source: XRP/USDT, TradingView
However, the selling pressure from whales had tapered off completely, as illustrated by the Whale Flow 30DMA.
Over the past two months, major players have offloaded more than 45 million XRP, coinciding with a decline in price from $3.5 to $2.
If the whales begin accumulating, it could potentially boost XRP bulls, similar to the trend observed during the Q2 2025 recovery.
Source: CryptoQuant
Nonetheless, Options traders were actively buying short-dated puts (hedging), underscoring caution and uncertainty in the near-term.
This was illustrated by the negative 25-Risk Reversal (25RR), which tracks market sentiment and positioning.
Source: Amberdata
The current weak market sentiment has overshadowed the upcoming ETF launch. Despite even XRP whales slowing down on the offloading, positioning remained cautious in the near term.
