According to Woofun AI, although seven spot XRP ETFs are already trading in the market, BlackRock (BLK.US), a financial giant with assets reaching $15 trillion, has never submitted a related application to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. This absence has sparked questions about its strategic intentions.
Currently, these seven spot XRP ETFs have total assets under management of $1.77 billion. Well-known companies such as Franklin Templeton (BEN.US), Grayscale, 21Shares, and Bitwise have all participated in product development, indicating a certain level of market demand.
However, BlackRock has ignored this. According to the company, its primary criterion for launching a new fund is meeting client demand, and as things stand, there is not yet sufficient client demand to support the launch of a new spot XRP ETF. Woofun AI's compiled data shows that behind this decision lies a cautious assessment of expected capital inflows.
Although $1.77 billion sounds like a considerable figure, it appears insignificant compared with BlackRock's Bitcoin ETF—the iShares Bitcoin Trust (IBIT.US)—whose assets under management reach as high as $67 billion, with an expense ratio of 0.25%, a gain of 1.74% today, a current price of $0.83, and a share price of $48.56. The iShares Ethereum Trust (ETHA.US) also has assets under management of $10 billion, likewise far exceeding the combined assets of those seven XRP ETFs.
Just two years ago, before the launch of spot XRP ETFs, analysts expected inflows of up to $8 billion into the XRP market, but in reality only $1.77 billion was attracted—a figure that is only a small fraction of the forecast, indicating that analysts overestimated investor demand for XRP.
Currently, XRP is trading at $1.50, with a today's change of -0.62%, a range of $1.49 to $1.52, a two-week price range of $0.99 to $3.05, and trading volume of 1.5 billion shares. Unless a large amount of new capital flows in, it is difficult to see a significant rise in XRP's price. Judging from what BlackRock has revealed about client demand for XRP, this is unlikely to happen in the short term.
For this reason, I will not buy XRP at present. Although its market capitalization is large enough to warrant further attention, current demand is not sufficient. Before BlackRock starts buying XRP for its clients, I will continue to look for other better investment opportunities.