Ripple has announced an investment in Bitwise’s XRP exchange-traded product (ETP) as the issuer rebrands the offering to strengthen its presence in the European market.
On Nov. 7, Bitwise announced it would rebrand its European XRP (XRP) ETP, the ETC Group Physical XRP, to the Bitwise Physical XRP ETP. Its ticker, GXRP, will remain unchanged.
The move follows Bitwise’s entry into the European market in August when it acquired the ETC Group, a crypto investment firm managing $1 billion in assets, including physical crypto ETPs, the Bitcoin ETP (BTCE), Ethereum with staking (ET32), Solana (ESOL), MSCI Digital Assets Select 20 (DA20) and GXRP.
A physical ETP is an offering that tracks the performance of underlying assets, which are also bought and held by the product’s issuer.
Bitwise XRP ETP targets Europeans
The Bitwise Physical XRP ETP is designed to give European investors exposure to XRP through a physically backed product that holds the underlying asset.
Bitwise co-founder and CEO Hunter Horsley said in a press release that XRP and the XRP Ledger are some of the “most familiar” and trusted blockchains in the space.
“We’re thrilled to be providing access for investors through an institutional quality product with the Bitwise Physical XRP ETP (GXRP),” Horsley added.
Bitwise also plans to rebrand its entire European ETP portfolio as part of its efforts to expand its operations across the continent.
Bitwise said it had seen significant growth in 2024, highlighting over $10 billion in total client assets. The company added that it plans to launch additional institutional-grade crypto ETPs.
The company has increased its crypto-based products recently. On Nov. 12, Bitwise launched its first Aptos staking ETP. On Nov. 26, it filed an S-1 registration for ETF tied to Bitcoin (BTC) and Ether (ETH).
Ripple invests in GXRP
Besides the rebrand, Bitwise also announced that Ripple will invest in GXRP. Although the financial details were not disclosed, Ripple CEO Brad Garlinghouse highlighted a surge in global demand for crypto-backed investment products in 2024.
“With the US regulatory environment for crypto finally becoming more clear, this trend is poised to accelerate, further driving demand for crypto ETPs, such as the Bitwise Physical XRP ETP,” Garlinghouse said.
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