Bitwise has officially announced the launch of its spot XRP ETF on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE). The fund, trading under the ticker XRP, will go live at 2:30 p.m. EST on Thursday, November 20. It’s another huge step toward making digital assets a normal part of the financial world.
Bitwise is positioning itself as a leader here, to play catch-up in what’s becoming a “second wave” of crypto ETFs. They are hot on the heels of Canary Capital, which made history by launching its own fund just last week. To carve out its slice of the pie, Bitwise isn’t just showing up; they’re starting a fee war.
The race to zero fees
Bitwise confirmed that its ETF will eventually cost investors 0.34% in management fees. But to steal some thunder from the early movers, they are waiving that fee entirely for the first month on the first $500 million invested.
This is a necessary move because Canary Capital got a massive head start. Canary launched its ETF (ticker: XRPC) back on November 13 and immediately smashed records, pulling in about $245 million in inflows. By undercutting Canary’s 0.50% fee, Bitwise is clearly hoping to lure in cost-conscious investors who haven’t committed their cash yet.
Competitors in the ETF war
The competition is getting fierce fast. Bitwise is now stuck in the middle of a three-way fight:
- Canary Capital: Has the “first-mover” advantage.
- Franklin Templeton: Is the aggressive “low cost” leader, with a fee reportedly as low as 0.19%.
- Bitwise: Trying to find a middle ground with a balanced strategy and that intro fee waiver.
Market reaction: “Sell the news”
Even with this bullish news, the price of XRP hasn’t skyrocketed today. It’s currently trading between $2.15 and $2.23. This looks like a classic “sell-the-news” event, where traders bought in early (pushing the price near $2.50 recently) and are now selling to take profits.
Still, Bitwise executives are looking at the long game. CIO of Bitwise, Matt Hougan, argues that XRP is here to stay because it actually works—it processes billions in volume daily and settles transactions in just 3 to 5 seconds.
With heavyweights like Grayscale and WisdomTree expected to jump in by November 25, the liquidity in these markets is about to go much deeper. As Bitwise CEO Hunter Horsley put it, crypto is earning a “permanent role” in portfolios. Now, the race shifts from who launched first to who can actually keep the money coming in.
