U.S.-based asset manager Teucrium Investment Advisors will launch a 2x leveraged XRP exchange-traded fund (ETF) on April 8, according to the company’s website. 

The XXRP ETF, based on the native token of stewards, Ripple Labs, will be listed on NYSE Arca.

Bloomberg Senior ETF Analyst Eric Balchunas noted the unusual nature of the launch via X on Monday.

 “Very odd (maybe a first) that a new asset’s first ETF is leveraged. Spot XRP still not approved, although our odds are pretty high," he wrote. 

The fund is designed to provide twice the daily performance of Ripple’s XRP token and is intended for short-term trading. Teucrium will charge a management fee of 1.85%.

In its fund literature, Teucrium cited volatility and declining usage as risks that could negatively impact the ETF’s performance.

The debut comes amid a wave of spot XRP ETF applications still under review by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). 

Fund managers, including WisdomTree, Bitwise, 21Shares, Canary Capital, and Franklin Templeton, have all submitted proposals.

The SEC has acknowledged multiple spot XRP ETF applications. Pending decisions could bring additional XRP investment vehicles to market in the coming months.

The SEC approved the first batch of spot Bitcoin ETFs in January 2024, leading to increased interest in ETFs tied to other cryptocurrencies such as Solana, Litecoin, Dogecoin and XRP. 

The inauguration of Donald Trump in January also saw a surge in applications from investment firms vying to bring spot ETFs based on altcoins to market following the SEC's pivot to favorable crypto regulation this year.

Teucrium’s ETF launch follows the SEC’s decision in March to drop a years-long case against XRP token creators Ripple, one in a slew of cases against crypto companies that have since been thrown out. It paid a $50 million fine.

XRP is currently trading at $1.87, down 3% over the previous 24 hours.

Edited by Sebastian Sinclair