BlackRock Ignores XRP, Focusing on Bitcoin and Ethereum Instead

BlackRock's strategy in the crypto market has been under scrutiny lately. The asset manager has chosen to focus on Bitcoin and Ethereum, ignoring other cryptocurrencies like XRP for now. According to industry watchers, this move could be seen as a market judgment that other cryptocurrencies do not have sufficient value.

Nate Geraci, president of The ETF Store, called BlackRock's strategy 'very risky'. He pointed out that a major asset manager running about 500 traditional ETFs is effectively signaling to the market that cryptocurrencies beyond Bitcoin and Ethereum do not offer enough investment value. However, he still expects BlackRock to ultimately expand its lineup of spot crypto ETF products.

On-chain data showed a wallet linked to BlackRock withdrew $312 million from Coinbase Prime over the past day. Of this amount, $282 million moved to a wallet tied to its flagship iShares Bitcoin Trust ETF (IBIT), while the remaining $30.6 million was split between the iShares Ethereum Trust ETF (ETHA) and the Ethereum Staking ETF (ETHB).

Geraci believes that BlackRock will change course at some point by launching additional ETFs, including those for altcoins like XRP. He said that market size is one of the reasons why BlackRock is not moving immediately into spot altcoin ETFs. Total net assets in XRP funds in the United States stand at $1.4 billion, compared to $98.63 billion and $15.13 billion for Bitcoin and Ethereum respectively.

Steven McClurg, chief executive of Canary Capital, said that BlackRock is unlikely to show interest until net assets in XRP funds launched by existing competitors reach about $3 billion. He added that this level would demonstrate systematic demand from major institutional investors.