• ProShares will launch a U.S. futures XRP ETF by the end of April. 
• XRP ranked higher on the spot ETF race with 10 applications. 

The U.S. spot Ripple [XRP] ETF (exchange-traded funds) approval could happen soon, according to market experts.

The speculation gained traction after ProShares updated its application for an XRP ETF based on futures contracts and swap arrangements.

Per the SEC filing, the product eyed the 30th of April for a potential debut. If so, that would mark two U.S. futures XRP ETFs (ProShares and Teucrium).

According to Nate Geraci of ETF Store, that would be a strong catalyst for the likely approval of spot products. 

“2x leveraged XRP ETF is *currently* live & trading…I simply don’t see this SEC not approving spot XRP ETF. And sooner, rather than later.”

For the unfamiliar, both spot BTC ETFs and ETH ETFs approval happened after futures products were greenlighted. 

XRP leads altcoin ETF race 

For its part, KaiKo, a crypto research firm, argued that spot XRP ETF could be approved faster than Solana [SOL] ETFs, citing the altcoin’s market liquidity and number of interested issuers. 

The firm noted that 10 issuers had applied for spot XPR ETFs, compared to only five for SOL ETFs. 

The firm added, 

“Both XRP and SOL have the highest average 1% market depth on Kaiko Indices vetted exchanges, while Cardano’s ADA places third. XRP’s market depth soared since the end of 2024, flipping SOL and doubling ADA.”

Kaiko stated that the previous SEC leadership was keen on market liquidity to ensure well-structured products before greenlighting any submission. If that applies to the new SEC, XRP could rank higher on the approval ratings. 

That said, Polymarket remained highly confident that U.S. spot XRP ETFs would be approved as soon as this year. They priced in a 75% chance of approval in 2025.

Even so, whales have reduced their exposure since February, as indicated by the overly negative (red, Whale vs. Retail Delta) indicator.  

Positive whale exposure, like in November and early January (green bars), coincided with price rallies. Ergo, the XRP price could remain capped unless whales increase exposure again. 

On the daily price chart, XPR has been on a decline but remained constrained between trendline support, a 200DMA (daily moving average), and a 50EMA (exponential moving average).

So, XRP could swing between $2.2 and $2 in the short term, but the weak demand could drag it below $2 again.