In this photo illustration, the cryptocurrency ‘altcoin’ Ripple is pictured April 25, 2018 in London, England.
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The price of Ripple’s XRP token skyrocketed on Thursday after Grayscale announced the launch of a new trust fund that gives accredited investors direct exposure to the cryptocurrency.
Cryptocurrency XRP was last up 3% at 56 cents a coin, according to Coin Metrics. It had previously risen as much as 9%. XRP is the native token of Ripple’s XRP Ledger, which is intended to facilitate cross-border financial transactions. It is the fifth-largest coin by market capitalization, excluding stablecoins. Common currency (USDT) And USDC.
Unlike exchange-traded funds, trusts are primarily traded over the counter. Trusts are also susceptible to trading at prices that are inconsistent with the underlying value of the portfolio.
“As crypto investors diversify beyond Bitcoin and Ethereum, we believe in providing access to protocols that solve real-world problems,” said Rayhaneh Sharif-Askary, director of product research at Grayscale. “XRP can reduce friction in international payments, bringing greater efficiency to the growing global economy.”
Last summer, Ripple won a partial victory in its three-year battle with the Securities and Exchange Commission, but hailed as a landmark victory for the cryptocurrency industry. US federal judge Analisa Torres has ruled that XRP is not considered a security when sold to retail investors on exchanges, but is considered an unregistered securities offering if sold to institutional investors.
Grayscale made history shortly thereafter when the court ruled that The SEC was wrong to deny The cryptocurrency investment giant is allowed to convert its popular bitcoin trust into an ETF. The agency approved the necessary rule change in January. The Grayscale Bitcoin Trust and Grayscale Ethereum Trust began trading as ETFs in January and July of this year, respectively.
Major cryptocurrencies were little changed on Thursday. Bitcoin last traded at $57,827.83 and ether at $2,331.58. MicroStrategy was little changed. Cryptocurrency up 2%.
—CNBC’s Jesse Pound contributed to the report
