According to Cointelegraph, Ripple has made a strategic investment in Bitwise's XRP exchange-traded product (ETP) as the issuer rebrands its offering to enhance its foothold in the European market. On November 7, Bitwise announced the rebranding of its European XRP ETP, previously known as the ETC Group Physical XRP, to the Bitwise Physical XRP ETP. The ticker symbol, GXRP, will remain unchanged.
This development follows Bitwise's entry into the European market in August, marked by its acquisition of the ETC Group, a crypto investment firm managing $1 billion in assets. The firm's portfolio includes physical crypto ETPs such as the Bitcoin ETP (BTCE), Ethereum with staking (ET32), Solana (ESOL), MSCI Digital Assets Select 20 (DA20), and GXRP. A physical ETP is a financial product that tracks the performance of underlying assets, which are also purchased and held by the issuer.
The Bitwise Physical XRP ETP aims to provide European investors with exposure to XRP through a physically backed product that holds the underlying asset. Bitwise co-founder and CEO Hunter Horsley expressed enthusiasm about offering investors access to XRP and the XRP Ledger, which he described as some of the most familiar and trusted blockchains in the industry. Horsley emphasized the institutional quality of the Bitwise Physical XRP ETP (GXRP) as a key feature for investors.
In addition to the rebranding of the XRP ETP, Bitwise plans to revamp its entire European ETP portfolio as part of its strategy to expand operations across the continent. The company reported significant growth in 2024, with over $10 billion in total client assets, and announced plans to launch more institutional-grade crypto ETPs. Bitwise has been actively expanding its crypto-based offerings, launching its first Aptos staking ETP on November 12 and filing an S-1 registration for an ETF tied to Bitcoin (BTC) and Ether (ETH) on November 26.
Ripple's investment in GXRP is a notable aspect of this development. Although the financial specifics of the investment were not disclosed, Ripple CEO Brad Garlinghouse highlighted a growing global demand for crypto-backed investment products in 2024. Garlinghouse noted that with the US regulatory environment for crypto becoming clearer, this trend is expected to accelerate, further boosting demand for crypto ETPs like the Bitwise Physical XRP ETP.
