BlackRock Tees Up XRP ETF After Insider's Valuation Reveals Asset's Advantages

BlackRock's decision to launch an ETF for Ripple's XRP cryptocurrency has been closely watched by market observers. The firm, known for its extensive lineup of exchange-traded funds (ETFs), currently offers products covering a wide range of asset classes, but XRP remains absent from its catalog.

Crypto analyst Digital Asset Investor believes that this absence is temporary and points to the fact that BlackRock already has institutional knowledge about XRP. In 2018, while still working at BlackRock, Robbie Mitchnick produced a valuation of XRP that highlights the asset's technical advantages over Bitcoin.

Mitchnick's document was co-authored by Susan Athey and puts XRP's fair-market value at $4,813. Digital Asset Investor sees this as evidence that institutional investors have already done their research on XRP and are waiting for the right moment to enter the market.

BlackRock has every structural capability to launch a spot XRP ETF, but the timing remains uncertain. The firm's president of The ETF Store, Nate Geraci, has expressed his confidence in BlackRock's eventual decision to launch additional spot crypto ETFs, including one for XRP.